Overview
- The BMC registered separate police complaints against DGM Sheetal Tapovan in Dindoshi and Kalpataru Aura in Ghatkopar after inspections found suspected deliberate damage and pruning beyond approved limits.
- BMC Garden Department officials who inspected the Dindoshi site found about 20–22 holes drilled at the base of a roadside Peltophorum tree and a second tree that had completely dried up, prompting a non-cognisable offence at Kurar Police Station.
- At Ghatkopur, civic inspectors concluded that more than 100 trees inside the Kalpataru Aura society were pruned beyond the limits set in the permission the society had received, and a police case was filed.
- Additional Municipal Commissioner Avinash Dhakane warned of zero tolerance and said prior permission is mandatory for cutting, damaging, or pruning trees and that violations carry penal and criminal penalties under the 1975 law.
- The actions are likely to heighten scrutiny of housing societies and developers, increase citizen reporting, and test how the BMC enforces tree‑protection rules across Mumbai neighborhoods.