The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is facing mounting criticism after its inquiry report into the fatal Chembur tree collapse was rejected by Mumbai BJP president Ameet Satam, who alleged that the civic body had failed to fix responsibility for the tragedy.
The incident occurred on June 30, when a peepal tree collapsed onto a school bus in Chembur (West), killing 11-year-old Vihaan Srivastav. Following the accident, Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide constituted an internal committee to investigate the cause.
The committee's report reportedly cleared the BMC's Garden and Roads departments of any wrongdoing, while imposing a total penalty of INR 7 lakh on the contractor and consultant involved in the project. However, the report did not assign responsibility to any civic officials, drawing criticism from political leaders.
Satam dismissed the report, calling it an attempt to shield officials while penalising only the contractor. He questioned why no action had been initiated against the officers responsible for overseeing the work if lapses had indeed occurred. He also demanded that accountability be fixed in the death of the schoolboy.