Mumbai: BMC General Body Rejects Chembur Tree-Collapse Probe, Orders Fresh Third-Party Inquiry

Mumbai, July 16: The BMC's internal probe into the Chembur tree-collapse death came under fire on Thursday, with the civic general body rejecting its clean chit to the Garden and Roads departments.

The Peepal tree collapsed after excavation work around it, killing an 11-year-old school student. Mayor Ritu Tawde ordered a fresh third-party inquiry, while the House demanded that officials responsible for the alleged lapses be held accountable.

House Rejects Internal Probe

Raising a point of order, Leader of the House Ganesh Khankar launched a scathing attack on the BMC's internal inquiry report, accusing it of shielding civic officials while imposing only a Rs 7 lakh penalty on the contractor and consultant.

“If the Garden Department had repeatedly warned that the tree's roots had been damaged during road excavation, why did the concerned Assistant Road Engineer fail to act?” Khankar asked. “We will not allow the administration to pass the buck for its own failures. Contractors cannot be allowed to run the BMC.”

Calling the findings an attempt to “whitewash” the civic administration's role, Khankar rejected the report, tore up a copy in the House in protest and demanded a fresh independent third-party inquiry into the incident.

Tawde also expressed outrage, saying the crucial inquiry report had not been shared with either her or Garden Committee Chairperson Hetal Gala.

Tawde said she had earlier inspected the same stretch in Chembur and raised concerns over the visibly weak trees. “The site engineer assured me that all necessary precautions had been taken. Yet the incident happened,” she said.

Mayor Orders Fresh Inquiry

Tawde pointed out that local residents, activists and public representatives had repeatedly alerted the BMC about the dangerous trees, but their warnings were ignored.

“Eleven people have lost their lives this monsoon in incidents involving tree collapses, house collapses and open manholes, yet the administration has failed Mumbaikars. Instead of fixing responsibility, it is protecting its own officials,” Tawde said.

Rejecting the inquiry report, she said it would be sent back to the administration and ordered a fresh independent inquiry, with strict action against officials found responsible.

BMC Responds In House

Replying to the civic House, Additional Municipal Commissioner Avinash Dhakane said it was scientifically difficult to predict exactly when a tree might collapse.

“We have been consulting experts on measures to protect trees and prevent such incidents. Mumbai has nearly two lakh roadside trees, most of which were planted around 50 years ago. The Peepal tree that collapsed in Chembur was around 60 years old,” he said.

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Dhakane said the BMC was examining measures to identify and address potentially dangerous trees. Pointing out that tree-collapse incidents had also been reported in Thane, Pune and Navi Mumbai, he said the administration would take further action in view of the concerns raised by the civic House.

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