Chembur tree fall incident: Mumbai BMC mayor orders fresh third-party probe

A roadside Peepal tree was uprooted amid rain and fell on a school bus, killing one student in Mumbai’s Chembur area. | Photo credit: Emmanual Yogini

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Mayor Ritu Tawde has ordered a fresh third-party probe into the Chembur tree falling incident in Mumbai, rejecting the internal inquiry report by a three-member committee.

The BMC mayor rejected a clean sweep given to the garden and roads department while imposing only modest penalties on the contractors.

Ms Tawde said: “The inquiry report was not shared with me or the garden committee chairperson Hetal Gala. The engineer assured me that all necessary precautions were taken during my visit to the same section where the incident took place. Yet the incident happened.”

On June 30, a Peepal tree fell on a school bus, killing an 11-year-old student of the school, Vihaan Shrivastava.

Leader of the House and BJP corporator Ganesh Khankar called the report an attempt to “whitewash” the role of the BMC administration and demanded a fresh independent probe.

“Why did the assistant road engineer not act when he warned the contractor several times? Contractors cannot be allowed to run the BMC,” Mr. Khankar said.

Ms. Tawade also raised concerns about monsoon deaths, saying that when the monsoon started, there were 11 deaths due to falling trees, house collapses or open manholes. Administration has failed in Mumbai and instead of taking responsibility they are protecting their officials.

Published – 17 Jul 2026 11:50 IST