panel submits Chembur tree death report
MUMBAI, Oct. 7 -- Former University of Mumbai (MU) vice-chancellor Sanjay Deshmukh, who was appointed to head a one-member committee to investigate the death of 11-year-old Vihaan Srivastav, submitted his report to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Tuesday, people aware of the matter said. The tragedy occurred after a large peepul tree in Chembur collapsed on a school bus the boy was travelling in; many others were injured.
The report contains details of the June 30 incident. Two more reports will follow before October 15, detailing broader policy recommendations on urban forests, tree conservation and disaster management. The first report was submitted on September 30, highly placed sources informed.
The reports are very detailed and intended to serve as guiding policies for the civic administration, said the source.
Deshmukh was appointed on July 30 after the Mumbai mayor Ritu Tawde and elected representatives rejected the findings of an initial inquiry into the incident. The earlier two-member fact-finding committee, comprising deputy municipal commissioners Purshottam Malwade and Shashank Bhore, had cleared the roads and gardens departments of negligence and recommended penalties of Rs.5 lakh on contractor Gawar Construction Ltd and Rs.2 lakh on project management consultant Mahimtura Consultants Pvt Ltd.
The findings had also faced criticism from Vihaan's family, particularly over warnings issued before the incident about excavation near the tree.
The new committee was asked to independently examine the incident, review the earlier inquiry and assess the causes from engineering, botany, ecology, drainage, road construction, soil and disaster-management perspectives....
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