‘Rs 7 lakh won’t bring justice’: Mumbai Mayor rejects BMC clean chit in Chembur tree death

“In the Chembur tree collapse, the responsibility lay with the site engineer and the garden department. They should have worked collectively,” she said.

“Even during my visit, I had pointed out that the trees are weakening and the responsibility lies with the site engineer and the garden cell,” Tawde added.

What internal inquiry found

On Monday, a committee probing the June 30 tree collapse recommended imposing fines of Rs 5 lakh and Rs 2 lakh on the roadwork contractor and supervising consultant respectively, while prima facie finding no fault with the BMC’s garden and roads departments.

BMC Commissioner Ashwini Bhide directed officials to implement the panel’s recommendations, including preparing a standard operating procedure (SOP) for urban tree safety and appointing tree experts to supervise pruning work, according to a civic release issued on Monday night.

Citing negligence during excavation around the tree’s roots, the BMC held the contractor partially responsible and imposed a Rs 5 lakh penalty.

While the report said the contractor had failed to take adequate precautions, it also held that he cannot be solely held responsible.

“The contractor failed to take adequate measures. Considering several factors alongside the fact that nearly 1,158 trees and branches fell across Mumbai during the same period, the contractor cannot be held solely responsible. Nevertheless, since the contractor had been specifically warned that they would be held responsible, the committee holds that inadequate precautions may have been a contributing factor,” the report said.

The committee also imposed a Rs 2 lakh penalty on the external consultant for inadequate supervision.

The report, however, absolved the BMC’s road and garden departments, saying the latter had issued precautionary advisories before the excavation and the former had diverted the storm water drain away from the tree roots.

Calling the report findings “entirely unacceptable”, Ganesh Khankar, Leader of House in BMC, told The Indian Express that the house will now seek a re-inquiry into the case.

“An innocent boy has lost his life. His mother is still unable to come to terms with this loss. In such a case, the contractor and consultant cannot be let go with a fine of just Rs 5 lakh and Rs 2 lakh. We are not going to accept this report. We are going to seek a re-inquiry into the matter and demand for more accountability. We will be raising this issue in the House soon,” Khankar told Express.

When contacted, officials from the civic appointed panel maintained they were yet to receive any written request, calling for another inquiry.