As Monsoon Raises Tree Fall Fears Residents Geo Tag Vulnerable Trees Ahead Of Bmc Survey

Harshita was critically injured after a massive tree crashed onto an autorickshaw on Linking Road in Khar on May 10. Beside her that day was 15-year-old family friend Aarika Shrivastava, who succumbed to her injuries a week later.As the monsoon gathers pace and fears of more such accidents grow following another massive branch collapse on the Malabar Hill Nature Trail on June 13, citizens across Mumbai have launched a campaign to identify and geo-tag potentially hazardous trees before they become deadly. Armed with mobile phones and GPS-enabled camera applications, volunteers are documenting trees whose roots have been suffocated by concretisation, damaged by construction activity or weakened by neglect.The photographic evidence, complete with location coordinates, will be submitted to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and placed before the Bombay High Court ahead of a court-directed joint inspection scheduled on June 25.The exercise stems from an ongoing public interest litigation filed by petitioner Rohit Joshi, seeking the removal of concretisation around tree bases, which experts say weakens root systems and increases the risk of trees toppling during heavy rain and strong winds.Citizens map tree risksWhile the BMC and the Thane Municipal Corporation informed the Bombay High Court that less than one per cent of trees remained concretised, the petitioners disputed the claim, alleging that nearly 60% are still encased in concrete. Taking note of the discrepancy, the court directed a joint sample survey involving petitioners and civic officials at 10 locations. The survey was conducted in Thane on June 16 and is scheduled to be carried out in Mumbai on June 25.A senior BMC official said the purpose of the joint inspection is to identify and map trees whose bases have been concretised. The official admitted that the civic body currently has no data on the number of concretised trees across Mumbai or on locations where concretisation has already been removed, making the exercise crucial.“Once we map these trees, we will take up the removal of the concretisation at their base,” the official said.“The civic body claimed before the High Court that less than one per cent of trees in Mumbai are concretised at their base, but that assertion is far from reality. Across the city, almost every other tree has concrete around its base, yet the BMC and the Tree Authority have failed to take corrective action. Surveying trees and removing concretisation was their job, but citizens have had to step in and document these violations themselves. The photographic evidence collected during this exercise will be shown to the BMC and placed before the Hon’ble High Court,” said Joshi.The initiative has drawn support from senior citizens, lawyers, environmentalists, students and professionals, many of whom have spent hours surveying roads, parks and footpaths to build what they hope will become a citywide database of vulnerable trees.Volunteers fan across cityFor Ravindra Waghmare, a senior citizen and HR professor, the campaign has become a full-time mission. On Thursday and Friday, he walked the entire stretch of Shivaji Park and Dr MBR Road, documenting trees from morning till night, taking breaks only for meals before resuming the survey. Over two days, he geo-tagged and photographed more than 200 trees with concretised bases that he believes could pose a risk.In Borivali, 47-year-old Alpi Jain documented more than 133 such trees during her morning walks. Having lived in the suburb since childhood, she said she had watched the area lose much of its native tree cover to redevelopment.“We had so many native, fruit-bearing and medicinal trees: tamarind, jamun, mango, banyan, peepal, Sita Ashoka and chikoo. Much of it has already been lost,” she said.“There is a disturbing pattern. Where there were once four trees, only one or two remain after redevelopment. Borivali was much greener when I was growing up. If we cannot even protect the trees that are left, we will lose them too. This campaign is about preserving and strengthening whatever remains,” she added.Mulund resident and lawyer Sagar Devre has documented nearly 200 trees so far. He believes rampant redevelopment and indiscriminate concretisation are leaving trees with little chance of survival.“Trees need space for their roots to breathe and grow naturally. Instead, we are reducing that space everywhere. People may get new amenities, but what about the danger when a weakened tree eventually falls?” he said.In Bandra, 42-year-old Neil Coutinho said he was alarmed not only by the number of concretised trees but also by the lack of awareness among residents. “Many people don’t realise that concretising the base of a tree is harmful. That mindset has to change before another life is lost,” he said.