Pune: The proposal to reserve land in merged villages for bio diversity parks (BDP) has been officially passed. But the major tasks lies ahead as the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and citizens face a stiff challenge to protect the open tracks of lands from encroachers.

The state government has clearly put the responsibility on the civic body asking it to take care of the BDPs on its own. Environmentalists, on the other hand, say the PMC should devise a mechanism to protect the land from slums. Experts say that protecting public lands, parks and water bodies has become an increasingly uphill task. Adequate involvement of people, policy makers and politicians which is most essential for effective management of common resources in the city is shrinking rapidly.