Civic Issues
A functioning city requires more than infrastructure — it requires citizens who are informed, engaged, and willing to hold institutions accountable. RSWF's civic work is grounded in the belief that public systems exist to serve people, and that the gap between policy and practice must be documented, challenged, and closed. We work constructively with government bodies — while never shying away from the accountability that meaningful civic engagement demands.
What We Do
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RTI filings
Submitting Right to Information requests to municipal and government bodies to ensure transparency in public decision-making — particularly around urban infrastructure, tree felling, and community animal care, and environmental clearances.
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Tree felling objections
Formally objecting to every tree felling proposal brought to public hearing in Pune — attending proceedings, placing objections on record, and advocating for alternative solutions that preserve urban green cover.
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Urban infrastructure audits
Conducting ground-level assessments of streets, footpaths, cycling infrastructure, and public sanitation against prescribed standards — and publishing findings to support evidence-based advocacy.
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GIS-based tree mapping
Mapping trees at ecologically significant sites using GIS — recording species, size, and health data to build a conservation case and protect designated biodiversity heritage sites from encroachment.
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Solid waste management
Running regular cleaning drives in collaboration with the Adar Poonawalla Clean City Initiative — addressing solid waste in Pune's public spaces while building civic awareness around responsible waste management.
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Public participation & hearings
Engaging directly with democratic processes — attending public hearings, training interns and volunteers in civic governance, and building the next generation of informed, active citizens.
Our reach so far
40+
RTIs filed with municipal and government bodies
700
Trees mapped using GIS at Ganeshkhind Botanical Garden
10
Streets audited for pedestrian, cycling & accessibility compliance
100%
Tree felling proposals formally objected to at public hearings
Field research — what we found
RSWF's interns conduct primary civic research on the ground — not from reports or secondary sources, but from direct field observation measured against prescribed legal and design standards. Here is what our most recent assessments revealed.
Urban Mobility & Street Design Audit — FC Road & JM Road, Pune
Urban Mobility & Street Design Audit — FC Road & JM Road, Pune
Field Research
Assessed against the Indian Roads Congress (IRC:103) standards and Pune's Urban Street Design Guidelines (USDG), our street audit of the FC Road and JM Road corridors — among Pune's busiest urban stretches — revealed a consistent and significant gap between prescribed standards and ground reality.
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Pedestrian infrastructure: Footpaths are frequently narrower than the mandated 4m standard, with illegal encroachments, vendor activity, and broken drainage lids routinely blocking usable walking space.
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Accessibility: Continuous tactile pathways for visually impaired pedestrians are largely absent. Bollard spacing as narrow as 0.45m — against the 0.9m minimum required for wheelchair access — effectively excludes persons with disabilities from public space.
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Cycling infrastructure: Designated cycle tracks are discontinuous and frequently narrower than the recommended 2m, making safe cycling impractical on these corridors.
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Public sanitation: A survey of women's public toilets on FC Road and JM Road identified persistent issues including poor odour control and irregular water supply. The mobile "Ti" toilet model was identified as a notably effective and replicable solution.
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Read the full report (link) →
Air Quality & Urban Environment — Pune
Research & Advocacy
Pune's transition from a "Pensioner's Paradise" to a congested urban centre has been rapid and poorly managed. Vehicular traffic reached 4.12 million registered vehicles by 2025, while rampant construction activity routinely violates municipal guidelines and the unchecked felling of trees has stripped the city of critical green cover. Together, these factors have made air quality — particularly PM2.5 and PM10 levels — a growing public health concern. Pune's bowl-shaped topography worsens this through Cold Air Drainage in winter, trapping pollutants at ground level.
RSWF's air quality work is not limited to documentation — it is a call for systemic change. Our advocacy focuses on:
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Traffic mismanagement: Raising awareness about the role of poorly planned vehicular movement — including artificial congestion caused by unregulated parking — in driving air pollution, and pushing for enforceable traffic management reforms.
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Construction violations: Documenting and reporting construction activity that violates municipal dust control and environmental guidelines, and advocating for stricter enforcement.
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Tree felling: Formally objecting to tree felling proposals and filing RTIs to ensure that every permission granted is legally justified and publicly accounted for.
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Public transport & pedestrian priority: Advocating for modal shift — promoting public transport, walking, and cycling as practical alternatives to private vehicles, and linking this directly to both air quality and street design reform.
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Tree mapping & documentation: Conducting GIS-based tree mapping at ecologically significant sites to build a conservation evidence base and protect designated biodiversity heritage areas from encroachment or development.
Our Recommendation
Pune needs a Complete Streets framework — one that reallocates road space away from private vehicles and towards pedestrians, cyclists, persons with disabilities, and public transport. Urban streets are public goods. They must be designed and maintained as such.
This is the standard adopted by progressive municipalities across India and the world. RSWF advocates for its implementation in Pune through evidence-based research, formal objections, RTI filings, and constructive engagement with the Pune Municipal Corporation and relevant authorities.
Our Partners🤝
Adar Poonawalla Clean City Initiative
RSWF collaborates with the Adar Poonawalla Clean City Initiative on regular solid waste management and cleaning drives across Pune — combining community mobilisation with structured civic action to address public space cleanliness.
Get Involved
Civic change is built by people who show up — to hearings, to surveys, to cleaning drives, and to conversations with their local representatives. If you want to contribute to making Pune a more accessible, greener, and more accountable city, we want to work with you.
🙋Volunteer
Join The Conscious Living Project as a student volunteer or campus leader. Help us run awareness campaigns, food sampling events, and film screenings at your college.
🏫Partner with us
Are you a college, student body, NGO, or funding institution that shares our values? We are actively seeking campus and organisational partnerships to expand our work in Pune.
💛Support our work
Your contribution directly funds animal rescues, feeding drives, legal advocacy, and campus awareness programmes. Donations are eligible for 80G tax deduction.
Reform Social Welfare Foundation is an 80G & 12A certified Section 8 Not-for-Profit Company.
All donations are tax-deductible under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961.