India, Oct. 18 -- Faced with growing criticism over the increasing number of tree collapses in Mumbai, many of them resulting in human fatalities, the civic body has drafted a standard operating procedure (SOP) to be followed for road excavation near trees and their pruning, both of which have been weakening trees for want of sufficient guidelines and deterrents for violations of existing rules.

The draft SOP focuses on protecting tree roots, scientific pruning and fixing accountability across civic departments. They also address the specific stresses faced by urban trees, particularly those arising from infrastructure projects and road excavation.

Submitted to municipal commissioner Ashwini Bhide on Thursday, the draft SOP was drawn up...