Mumbai, June 20: Mumbai, in recent times,  has witnessed fatal accidents due to tree fall. With the arrival of monsoons, the city reported almost four deaths in this month itself,  due to which the civic body drew a lot of flak. On one end, the corporation is being slammed for negligence, while on the other end, the Bombay High Court has pulled up the civic body on Tuesday for giving blanket permissions to trim trees without confirming whether those who sought permissions have been adhering to the Trees Act and the BMC rules. A division bench of justices Abhay Oka and Riyaz Chagla quizzed the BMC for grounds on which it granted unconditional blanket permissions.

Justifying their defence, the BMC lawyers told the court that the permissions were given under section 383 of the Municipal Act. The act allows the civic body to grant permissions to trim and prune trees for maintenance, even in cases where overgrown or damaged branches pose danger to life or property. Not convinced with the reply, the court said that the section does not permit a blanket permission without application of mind by the civic body. It further said if the trees are virtually killed in the name of trimming, then it will be in contravention of the Trees Act. Hence, the BMC has to reconsider and revoke the permissions given till now.

The bench also observed that the section 383 of MMC act also mandates that permissions could be granted only after the civic commissioner was convinced that the trees on a person’s property required trimming.

The court made the observation while hearing a PIL of 2015 filed by a city-based activist named Zoru Bethena, challenging the BMC's decision to allow TATA Power, Reliance Energy, the Railways and the Airport Authority to prune trees on their premises for next three years.

During the hearing, the court also asked the petitioner to amend his plea and name the agencies that were granted permission by the BMC as respondents. Meanwhile, the BMC has been directed to file a reply-affidavit justifying the permission granted.

In order to avoid mishaps due to trees falling, the civic commissioner has recently come up with an advisory about the precautionary measures that should be adopted.

Like the commissioner has appealed the citizens not to stand below the trees during heavy rainfall or gusty winds. It also advised citizens not to litter the tree basins by throwing food items which will attract rodents who will eventually weaken the roots or decay the tree trunk. It has also appealed to the citizens to inform the BMC Horticulture Department if they notice any dangerous trees. BMC has also started a mobile application --BMC 24x7 earlier through which one could obtain permissions to carry out pruning or trimming if the trees are overgrown or in a dangerous condition.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 20, 2018 11:58 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).