Something really disturbing has come out from Mumbai where BMC General Body on July 16 ordered third-party inquiry into tree collapse incident in Chembur that killed an 11-year-old student . And what makes this even more painful is how whole system initially tried to act like nobody was responsible.
See,BMC had already done internal investigation after one Peepal tree collapsed and killed that child . That report actually absolved the Garden and Roads departments completely . And General Body simply rejected that report and demanded independent inquiry instead.
Ganesh Khankar,Leader of the House,was clearly not having any of it . He openly criticized internal probe for going easy on civic officials,calling it attempt to shield them from accountability . He was so furious he actually tore up internal report right there during session . His main point was that contractor and consultant got away with only ₹7 lakh penalty despite Garden Department repeatedly warning about dangerous condition of that tree's roots . Seven lakh only,for a child's life…
Few key facts that explain why this situation became so serious:
- Peepal tree involved was approximately 60 years old,part of larger population of around two lakh roadside trees in Mumbai,many planted over five decades ago.
- Mayor Ritu Tawde revealed that vital details from inquiry had not been shared with her or Garden Committee Chairperson Hetal Gala.
- City has already witnessed eleven fatalities this monsoon due to tree collapses,house collapses,and open manholes combined .
Mayor Tawde's reaction was equally sharp . She pointed out that local residents and public representatives had already raised alarms about dangerous condition of these trees and administration simply ignored those warnings . That part is honestly hard to digest . People warned them . Warnings were dismissed . Then a child died.
And this is where things get really uncomfortable.
Eleven deaths this monsoon . Not just trees,but house collapses and open manholes also . Mayor herself used that number to make point that BMC needs to stop deflecting blame and start taking actual responsibility for safety of Mumbaikars.
Avinash Dhakane,Additional Municipal Commissioner,responded by acknowledging that predicting tree collapses involves various scientific factors which makes it genuinely difficult . He said BMC is consulting experts to develop better measures for tree protection going forward . He also noted that similar tree-collapse incidents have been reported in Thane,Pune,and Navi Mumbai,suggesting this is not Mumbai-specific problem but much wider municipal issue.
Honestly,that wider context matters . But it also cannot become excuse for what happened in Chembur . Sixty year old tree,repeated warnings from own Garden Department,minimal penalty for contractor… and still internal report found nobody responsible . That sequence of events is really difficult to defend .
Third-party inquiry has now been ordered and people are watching closely . But question that stays uncomfortable is whether this independent inquiry will actually go somewhere or become another document that gets filed away quietly . And whether eleven families who lost someone this monsoon will ever feel like someone was truly held accountable…
