Raj Thackeray slams tree-cutting plan for Sadhu Gram in Nashik's Tapovan as 'fake Hindutva' favoring contractors; supports Kumbh Mela but demands relocation to avoid sacred site's deforestation.
Joins environmentalists, actor Sayaji Shinde, and Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Rajabhau Waje in opposition..
Minister Mahajan insists on necessity for 4 lakh saints, promises transplantation
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray on Friday sharply criticized the state government's proposal to cut down approximately 1,800 trees in Nashik's Tapovan area to construct the 'Sadhu Gram', a temporary colony for seers during the 2026-27 Simhastha Kumbh Mela, labeling it as "corruption disguised as Hindutva" and urging authorities to avoid escalation by relocating the project. Addressing a press conference in Mumbai, Thackeray questioned the BJP-led administration's motives, asserting that the tree felling primarily benefits contractors rather than serving religious needs, and emphasized that his party supports the Kumbh Mela but not at the cost of environmental destruction in a site believed to be Lord Ram's exile abode.
The controversy erupted earlier this month when the Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) announced plans to clear 54 acres in Tapovan for the Sadhu Gram, expecting over 4 lakh saints from the Vaishnav sect and 10 million devotees for the mega event. Environmentalists and locals, backed by figures like actor Sayaji Shinde and Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Rajabhau Waj have staged protests, rejecting the government's compensatory pledge of planting 10 new saplings per felled tree as unfulfilled rhetoric. Thackeray dismissed such assurances, stating, "If space exists for five times more trees elsewhere, build the Sadhu Gram there instead of destroying what stands," and highlighted Nashik's history of hosting Kumbh Melas without such deforestation.
Minister Girish Mahajan defended the move as necessary for accommodating global saints, promising transplantation for some trees and preservation efforts by NMC, but opposition voices, including Uddhav Thackeray who called it a "massacre of nature wrapped in Hindutva," warn of broader ecological fallout in the Godavari river basin. As protests intensify, Thackeray cautioned the government against provoking public agitation, framing the issue as a test of genuine environmental stewardship over political expediency ahead of the 2027 congregation.
