Mumbai: BMC issues 318 notices to civic depts over tree damage

Sixty-four notices issued in Goregaon alone; complaints filed after seven trees collapsed in Malad, Andheri

The garden department of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has issued 318 notices to various civic departments for damaging trees while carrying out concreting and other work. Also, the garden department has filed police complaints in connection with seven tree-collapse incidents.

The garden department started auditing the state of roadside trees last week. During this exercise, officials found that in more than 318 spots, trees were damaged due to civil work from October last year to date. In many places, trees are tilted due to root damage. The highest number of notices, 64, have been issued in Goregaon, followed by 55 in Bandra West and 45 in Malad. According to sources, notices were sent to mostly the roads and stormwater drains department. “These departments will take further action,” officials said.

Currently, 433 km of roads in Mumbai are being concreted and the BMC is spending around R12,000 crore on this. During the concretisation of the road, footpaths are being repaired. In cases where trees have fallen during roadwork, police complaints have been registered. So far, seven cases have been reported to the police, with Malad accounting for the highest number, five, followed by one case each in Andheri East and West.

“Action will now be taken under the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees Act, 1975,” said an official. Last week, BMC imposed a penalty of R20,000 on a contractor for damaging the roots of a few trees at Prabhadevi.

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Stalin Dayanand, founder of the Vanashakti NGO, said there is a strict guideline about maintaining breathing space around roadside trees. “During work, that space should be left untouched. We have proved that pouring concrete around trees can result in their deaths. BMC teams need to keep a watch on road work at the ward level,” Stalin added.

Zoru Bhathena, an activist, said, “There is a strict guideline about the breathing spaces around trees that needs to be followed.”

According to the BMC’s guidelines, during concreting, a one-metre radius must be maintained around tree trunks. 

433 km
Length of roads being concreted 

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