Thane: As many as 818 trees have fallen in Thane in the first nine months of 2026, surpassing the annual toll recorded in any of the past 10 years, according to civic records.The alarming spike has raised questions over the Thane Municipal Corporation’s (TMC) preparedness, preventive measures and ability to protect the city’s green cover.While the city recorded an average of two tree falls in the entirety of 2019, the toll in 2026 has climbed to nearly three trees a day in just nine months, raising concerns of more losses by the year-end. These figures, officials admit, do not include trees felled or displaced to make way for govt infrastructure and private construction projects approved by the administration.The 818 tree falls, alongside 415 branch-fall incidents and 249 trees classified as dangerous, have brought civic preparedness under scrutiny, particularly in the wake of directions issued by deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde during the monsoon following a spate of injuries and the death of a resident due to tree fall.Environmentalists attribute the rising number of tree losses largely to indiscriminate concretisation around their trunks while undertaking upgrade works in public places like roads and even within housing societies where the concern is more to replace soil to avert rodents and to create more parking spaces.“The tree trunks are increasingly being choked by concrete, depriving roots of soil and water percolation. This weakens even mature trees, causing them to tilt and eventually collapse. Exotic species, which are often ill-suited to local topography and weather conditions, are another major factor,” said an environmentalist.Activists say the figures should prompt a shift from post-incident response to systematic risk assessment and preventive maintenance and question if inspections are keeping pace with the growing vulnerability of trees. They have also flagged shortcomings in the corporation’s tree-maintenance practices.“The corporation apparently lacks the expertise and equipment required for scientific pruning. The cranes deployed often cannot reach the upper canopy of tall trees, leaving staff to trim only the accessible portions. This can leave trees structurally imbalanced and more vulnerable to collapse. We shudder to think how such trees would withstand a cyclone,” said city-based green activist Rohit Joshi.A civic official said the corporation has issued directions to remove concrete layers around tree bases. The process of streamlining pre-monsoon pruning along more scientific lines is also expected to be taken up soon.
