Nearly a week after an 11-year-old student was killed when a massive tree uprooted and crashed onto a moving school bus in Chembur West, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) inquiry committee has submitted its report, giving a prima facie clean chit to the civic body's Garden and Roads departments while holding the contractor, project consultant and nature responsible for lapses during the ongoing stormwater drain project.
The committee, constituted by BMC Commissioner Ashwini Bhide following the June 30 tragedy, concluded that the Garden Department had carried out pre-monsoon tree inspections and pruning as scheduled. It also noted that the department had repeatedly alerted the Roads Department between January and March 2025 about the stormwater drain work being carried out near the tree, finding no negligence on its part.
The Roads Department was also cleared of any prima facie lapse. According to the report, engineers had altered the alignment of the stormwater drain to maintain a safe distance from the tree and avoid disturbing its root zone, indicating that necessary precautions had been taken during execution.
However, the committee found contractor Gawar Construction Limited negligent for failing to implement adequate tree protection measures despite written instructions issued by the Roads Department on March 9, 2026. It has recommended a financial penalty of ₹5 lakh against the contractor.
The panel also recommended a ₹2 lakh penalty on Mahimtura Consultants, the project's technical consultant, stating that the firm failed to properly supervise the contractor's work and ensure that the construction activity did not compromise the stability of the tree.
According to the report, the tree collapse was caused by a combination of adverse weather conditions and lapses during construction. Chembur recorded heavy rainfall and wind speeds of 25.7 kmph on the day of the incident, while 1,158 trees and branches fell across Mumbai between June 28 and July 5. Although botanical experts attributed the uprooting largely to natural factors, the committee held that the contractor had failed to take sufficient precautionary measures to minimise the risk.
To prevent similar incidents, the committee has recommended appointing qualified arborists for infrastructure projects involving trees, making tree protection mandatory in all civic contracts, maintaining a 3m x 3m permeable area around tree trunks during road concretisation, and directing the Garden Department to prepare a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for safeguarding trees affected by civic works.
The recommendations come in the wake of the June 30 accident in Chembur West, where an 11-year-old student lost his life after a massive Peepal tree collapsed onto a moving school bus, triggering widespread outrage and prompting the BMC to order a high-level inquiry.
