Deputy Chief Minister and Pune guardian minister Ajit Pawar on Thursday said that there was no reason to connect the ongoing Riverfront Development (RFD) project with flooding of Mutha river which was caused mainly due to record rainfall in a short time in and around Pune. "This discussion is not new that projects contribute to natural disasters. In 2004, during Congress–NCP rule in the state, there were all kinds of talks that windmills in western Maharashtra were preventing cloud formation leading to the drought in the area, but later the talk died down. The same is being said of the riverfront project now," he said. Pawar, however, admitted that water logging in societies was due to natural streams having been encroached upon and construction blocking the smooth flow of water. "It is the need of the hour to clear natural streams of encroachments," he said. Incidentally, there is a court stay on taking up any new work of RFD in the city till there is a final decision on it. Citizen activists have challenged the RFD saying that not only will it allow flooding in the city as the carrying capacity of the riverbed will reduce, but will also damage the biodiversity existing in and around the river. They have also accused the civic body of violating the submission made while seeking permission for RFD. Civic activist Sarang Yadvadkar said that the current crisis was the very concern that had been raised in the case against the RFD. "Hopefully this will awaken authorities and citizens," he said. Yadwadkar and a few others had raised objections to the construction of metro pillars in the riverbed as well as the ongoing RFD project.
