BMC Departments Trade Blame After Tree Collapse Kills Boy in Chembur East
An 11-year-old student was killed and four other children were injured when a 60-year-old roadside Peepal tree collapsed onto a school bus on Road No 11 in Chembur East, Mumbai, on Tuesday afternoon. The tragedy has prompted a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) investigation that has sparked a blame game between the civic body's road and garden departments over negligence.
Following the incident, BMC Chief Ashwini Bhide appointed a two-member committee of deputy municipal commissioners to investigate the collapse and submit a report within eight days. Three civic officials—the assistant superintendent of gardens, a sub-engineer, and an assistant engineer from the roads department—have been suspended for prima facie negligence.
The probe committee issued notices to the heads of the civic road and garden departments, giving them 24 hours to present their cases. The deadline ended on Friday evening, with both departments submitting responses that shift accountability.
The road department submitted drawings to show that its engineers performed their work correctly during road concretisation, which took place a year and a half ago. A senior road department official suggested the tree might have been internally infected, causing it to weaken and collapse during heavy rainfall.
However, the garden department stated it had previously issued notices to the road department to take precautions during roadworks. According to garden department officials, 328 notices were issued to the roads department between October 2024 and March 2025, warning that 2,458 trees across 24 wards had been damaged due to road excavation.
An initial site inspection by the investigation committee revealed that a storm water drain had been diverted during road concretisation, which damaged the tree's roots. The inspection also found the tree pit and base appeared hollow, with no open space left around the base.
The victim of the collapse has been identified as 11-year-old Vihan Shrivastav. The committee's ongoing probe aims to determine final departmental accountability for the fatal incident.
