"If the visitor, on his return from the fort, is found carrying less plastic than what he took along, the deposit amount will be kept as penalty," said State Forest Minister Babanrao Pachpute, who was in the city for a hearing at Council Hall, on Monday.

Municipal Commissioner Praveensinh Pardeshi was also present. The forest department is also planning to charge entry fee for vehicles at the fort, it was stated.

Pachpute said, "Sinhagad is a popular haunt. People take a lot of plastic with them and litter them. In order to curb this menace, we have decided to charge amount in the range of Rs 50 to Rs 100, if the person is found carrying plastic bag with him. This will be in the form of deposit. Before they climb the fort, the plastic items with them will be counted, and on their return these will be again verified. If these plastic bags or bottles count less than they were, the deposit will be kept with us as penalty."

Villagers from the local village committee will be put into action. "The penalty and the entry fee amount recovered from the citizens will be utilised for paying remunerations to these employed people," he said.

The State Forest Department, with the help of the Pune Municipal Corporation, has also embarked upon the development work at Sinhagad. Since the forest department does not have sufficient amount of funds, the PMC will provide Rs 1.75 crore. This joint project will spread over a period of two years. It will include, among other things, a plantation drive, repairing and strengthening of the old water tanks on the fort, cement weir and control over forest fires.