Now Reading: Mumbai tree falls spike to 855 in 2025, experts blame concretisation
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Mumbai tree falls spike to 855 in 2025, experts blame concretisation
Mumbai recorded 855 tree falls in 2025, the highest in four years, with 902 trees uprooted and 1,251 branches falling between June 22 and July 17 alone. Three people died in separate…
Mumbai recorded 855 tree falls in 2025, the highest in four years, with 902 trees uprooted and 1,251 branches falling between June 22 and July 17 alone. Three people died in separate incidents in late June and early July, including an 11-year-old boy on a school bus in Chembur. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has attributed the incidents to strong winds, which the India Meteorological Department recorded at 70-80 kmph on July 6-7.
Experts, however, point to poor urban planning as the root cause. Concretisation of tree bases and repeated excavation for utility work damage root systems, weakening the trees' ability to withstand wind and rain. Unscientific pruning and gaps in civic tree management are leaving structural risks unaddressed, according to arborists. A 2015 National Green Tribunal order to de-concretise tree bases in Mumbai remains largely unimplemented.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The spike in tree falls follows years of court orders that have seen little execution on the ground. In 2023, the Bombay High Court directed the Thane Municipal Corporation to de-concretise over 7,400 trees in 45 days, and later ordered a joint inspection with the BMC. Neither corporation has completed the work. The core conflict is between rapid infrastructure development, road concretisation, drain laying, utility digging, and tree conservation, with no single agency responsible for root protection during excavation. Mumbai's tree authority is the BMC garden department, but road and drain contracts are handled separately, creating a coordination gap. The next test is whether the BMC commissioner's denial of concrete roads as a cause will be revisited if monsoon storms continue and fatalities mount.
Source: india.mongabay.com
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
