01 July,2026 10:00 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
The spot where the mishap occurred on 11th Road in Chembur East on Tuesday. Pic/By Special Arrangement
A day after a peepal tree collapsed on a school bus in Chembur, killing an 11-year-old student, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Wednesday suspended two officials pending departmental inquiries and constituted a high-level committee to investigate the incident.
According to suspension orders issued by the civic body, M-West Ward Assistant Garden Superintendent Jagdish Bhoir and Junior Engineer (Roads) Arun Munde have been placed under suspension with immediate effect, pending preliminary and departmental inquiries.
The orders state that at 2.58 pm on Tuesday, June 30, a peepal tree located along Road No 11 near Diamond Garden in Chembur East uprooted and fell on a passing private school bus belonging to Universal School, Tilak Nagar.
The BMC said preliminary findings indicated prima facie negligence on the part of both officials in the discharge of their duties. While the action against Bhoir pertains to his responsibilities in the gardens department, Munde has been suspended over alleged negligence in connection with road reconstruction work at the site.
Meanwhile, BMC Commissioner Ashwini Bhide has constituted a high-level inquiry committee to investigate the incident and directed it to submit its report within eight days.
The committee comprises Deputy Commissioner (Special Engineering) Purushottam Malavde and Deputy Commissioner (Engineering) Shashank Bhore. It has also been asked to consult experts and recommend long-term measures to prevent similar tree collapse incidents during the monsoon.
According to the civic body, the incident occurred on June 30 at around 2.30 pm near Diamond Garden in Chembur when a roadside peepal tree uprooted and fell on a school bus carrying 13 children. Twelve children were rescued by the Mumbai Fire Brigade, the bus conductor and local residents and shifted to nearby hospitals. Four students sustained minor injuries, while 11-year-old Vihan Shrivastav succumbed to his injuries during treatment.
The BMC said the fallen peepal tree was approximately 60 to 70 years old and that no formal complaints had been received regarding the tree before the incident. It added that the tree had undergone an external structural inspection during a survey completed on May 12, 2026, which found it to be stable. It was also pruned on May 29 as part of the civic body's pre-monsoon maintenance drive.
According to the BMC, 468 dead or dangerous trees were removed across Mumbai in 2026, while branches of 1,03,318 trees were pruned ahead of the monsoon.
The civic body also noted that tree falls are a recurring monsoon challenge. It recorded 687 tree fall incidents in 2023, 653 in 2024, and 855 in 2025, including those on both civic and private properties.
Following the Chembur tragedy, the BMC Commissioner has directed officials to undertake fresh pruning of potentially dangerous trees and conduct time-bound reinspection of vulnerable trees across Mumbai. Officials have also been instructed to take immediate preventive action wherever hazardous trees are identified.
