Fall of trees not in human hands: Minister Sanjay Shirsat under fire for remarks on Mumbai school bus tragedy

Maharashtra Cabinet minister Sanjay Shirsat has kicked up a row by saying that falling of trees and lightning strikes are not in human hands, comments made in the wake of the death of a student after a tree collapsed on a school bus in Mumbai.

A day after making the controversial remarks and drawing flak for them, the Shiv Sena Minister on Wednesday (July 1, 2026) sought to control the damage, claiming he had been misquoted and that the civic body should have ensured proper trimming of trees in advance to prevent such tragic incidents.

Eleven-year-old student Vihan Srivastava died, and four other children, including a four-year-old girl, were injured after a large peepal tree collapsed onto their school bus in suburban Chembur around 3 p.m. on Tuesday (June 30, 2026). The bus was ferrying 13 students of Universal High School to their homes.

Asked about the tragedy, Mr. Shirsat on said, “How was one to know that the tree was going to fall? Falling of a tree or lightning is not in our hands. Maybe there were heavy winds.” His comments drew sharp reactions from the Opposition Congress and NCP (SP).

Slamming the Social Justice Minister, Congress leader Nana Patole said the remarks show “the level of arrogance” within the BJP-led Mahayuti government. “The monsoon preparedness was only on paper, there was nothing on the ground,” he alleged.

NCP (SP) leader Clyde Crasto dubbed Mr. Shirsat’s remarks as “shameful” and “insensitive”. The death of a child could not be brushed aside as a natural occurrence as proper tree audits and maintenance should have been carried out before the monsoon, he insisted.

Talking to reporters on Wednesday (July 1, 2026), under-fire Mr. Shirsat, however, maintained his remarks were misconstrued.

“This was a very unfortunate incident. I had said that even though falling of trees is natural, civic authorities should take due precautions. Trees which are about to collapse should be removed before the onset of monsoon,” Mr. Shirsat said.

“All I had said was that even if the falling of a tree was due to natural causes, the civic body should have taken proper care. The trees should have been trimmed well in advance. Such warnings cannot be ignored in the name of conserving nature. Otherwise, more such incidents will happen again,” he said.

The Minister claimed some people tried to misquote him. The State government is still concerned and making efforts to avoid such incidents, he said.

He emphasised tree audits are conducted regularly and the state government would make a statement on the incident in the legislative assembly during the ongoing monsoon session.

The Mumbai civic body had been directed to take necessary measures to prevent such accidents in future, the minister said.

The issue figured in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday (July 1), with members blaming the BMC for the tragedy.

Ruling Shiv Sena members Tukaram Kate and Murji Patel attacked the civic body over the fatal tree fall. Mr. Kate, the MLA from Chembur, noted this was not the first time such an accident has happened in his constituency.

“I have been repeatedly calling the civic officials to take precautionary measures, but in vain,” he said.

Mr. Patel demanded that the government take steps to help the boy’s family and the injured victims. He said Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is extending financial assistance of ₹2.5 lakh to the boy’s family.

Referring to a tree collapse incident in Marol in the western suburb of Andheri, he demanded that a tree survey be conducted immediately to find a solution to such problems.

Congress MLA Patole also raised the issue and asked the government to make a statement on it.

In the Legislative Council, Congress MLC Bhai Jagtap sought a discussion on the issue in the House. He said the BMC’s garden and tree department has history and details of every tree in Mumbai. So the BMC cannot brush the problem under the carpet.