Pune: A team of researchers, led by Priti Mastakar from Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, has quantified the economic value of Vetal Tekdi at approximately Rs14,60,000 crore ($171.35 billion) per year in environmental services, challenging the rationale behind developing infra projects at its cost.The report published in Athens Journal of Sciences in March 2026 highlights the urban forest’s role as the city’s “green lungs” amid rapid urbanisation. Mastakar said, “The study, we hope, will support the legal case against building anything or tunneling through Vetal Tekdi in the name of ‘development’ and destroying this environmental treasure.”Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has proposed three projects in Vetal Tekdi — Balbharati-Paud Phata Link Road, tunnels and a high capacity mass transit route (elevated inner ring road). Residents vehemently protested these plans. Mastakar’s report reinforces the view of crusaders against the PMC’s projects.The report puts a value to key services offered by 10.5sqkm of Vetal Tekdi through field work and environmental economics tools, like contingent valuation, hedonic pricing, expert opinion, travel cost and market price. The hill offers wetlands (valued at Rs98.28 crore from 4.9 crores litres of water), carbon sequestration (valued at Rs16 lakh), oxygen production (valued at Rs6.69 crore) and biodiversity (valued at Rs1.54 crore for odonates, butterflies and birds).Mastakar said, “A country’s economy is measured through Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Similarly, there are numerous tools to assess the valuation of environmental services (ES) of an ecosystem in monetary terms. After multi-crore projects were proposed on Vetal Tekdi promising to help cut travel time, and save energy and money, we wanted to conduct a study which tells us the monetary value of all the services the hill gives us but we take for granted. We hope that this study will help further the vital valuation of urban forests, usually undermined and sacrificed for urbanisation.”Aquifers dominate in Vetal Tekdi at Rs14,62,000 crore, storing 73,143 crore litres of water. These supply one-third of Pune’s water. Heritage values add Rs7.44 crore (Vetal temple) and Rs1.07 crore (Hanuman temple). A simulator aggregates these to Rs14.6 lakh crore ($171 billion) annually without the land price.“If we include the land market price for this area, the total value reaches Rs16,50,000 crore. No development project can give us services that surpass this amount,” said Mastakar.“Methane-eating bacteria are found in wetlands and quarries of Vetal Tekdi. People go there for exercise, mental peace and photography. Most people were willing to pay Rs500- Rs1,000 for the conservation of the tekdi. If we do the cost-benefit analysis of various proposed projects, we will realise that no project can compensate for the loss of environmental services given by the tekdi,” she said.Mastakar conducted the study with others between December 2024 and July 2025. It was then peer reviewed for another six months. Atharva Kulkarni, Dhruvika Lakhmani, Harsh Uttam, Sibani Singh, MK Darshan, Robia Kshetrimayum, Srushti Pradhan, Swara Bakshi, Swastik Indalkar, Deboleena Nasker, Miheer Karandikar, Munib Ahmad, Padmaja Uttawar and Rupali Sharma from different institutes were part of the study team.
