Mumbai: BMC Appoints Three-Member Expert Committee To Reinvestigate Chembur Tree Fall Tragedy, Report Due In 1 Month

Mumbai, July 30, 2026: A thorough investigation will be conducted by a three-member committee into the Chembur tree fall mishap, and the BMC has appointed botany expert and former Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr Sanjay Deshmukh for a re-investigation.

The step comes two weeks after the BMC House and Mayor Ritu Tawde rejected the preliminary inquiry report and directed a re-investigation. The committee will submit its report within a month, the civic administration said on Thursday.

It was on June 30 that 11-year-old Vihan Shrivastav was killed and four other children were injured after a roadside tree collapsed on a school bus carrying them.

The two-member committee, consisting of Deputy Municipal Commissioners, had prima facie given a clean chit to the Roads and Gardens departments and fined the contractors for negligence.

It was unacceptable to the BMC general body that no action was taken against the officers or engineers held responsible. The Mayor had directed the administration to appoint third-party experts and conduct a re-investigation.

Committee To Conduct Fresh Probe

The committee will study matters such as the examination of the methodology used by the preliminary inquiry committee, independent analysis of the evidence presented by the preliminary inquiry committee, and evaluation of the preliminary investigation report from the perspectives of engineering, botany, ecology, drainage, sewage disposal, road construction, meteorology, soil science and public administration.

The committee will also undertake a scientific examination of the preliminary inquiry observations, an independent analysis of the root cause of the incident, an evaluation of the interim measures recommended by the preliminary inquiry committee, a critical review of the recommendations in the report and suggest future policy reforms. The report will be submitted to Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide within a month.

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Departments Asked To Cooperate

"All the concerned department heads will be instructed to provide the necessary documents to this committee for investigation and to be present during the site visit. All the necessary cooperation will be provided by all the concerned departments to enable the committee to submit its report," the civic administration said.

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