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Carmel Convent tree collapse: Chandigarh administration announces ₹20 lakh compensation to deceased girl’s family
The Chandigarh administration will also provide a compensation of ₹10 lakh for critically injured victims and ₹1 lakh for minor injuries; the administrator also decided to appoint Justice Jitendra Chauhan (retd) as one-man inquiry committee to ascertain the facts of the case and fix responsibility including remedial action to be taken.
The UT administration will give financial assistance of ₹20 lakh to the family of the girl who died after a heritage tree fell on her at Carmel Convent School, Sector 9, on July 8.
The administration on Tuesday also decided to give ₹10 lakh to those critically injured in the incident and ₹1 lakh each to students, who suffered minor injuries.
The administrator also decided to appoint Justice Jitendra Chauhan (retd) as one-man inquiry committee to ascertain the facts of the case and fix responsibility including remedial action to be taken.
The decision came after the UT administrator Banwarilal Purohit along with UT adviser Dharam Pal and other senior officials of the administration and PGIMER visited the girls and school attendant, who were injured during the incident and are admitted at PGIMER.
Purohit along with the adviser, home secretary, director general of police and senior superintendent of police also visited the aggrieved family and offered their condolences.
A 16-year-old student of Carmel Convent School in Sector 9 had died and 16 of her school mates were injured when a 70-feet peepal tree, declared a heritage tree by the administration, fell on them during recess.
Following a magisterial prove, police registered a case under Sections 304-A (causing death by negligence) and 334 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code at the Sector-3 police station.
A committee of officials from MC, forest department and horticulture wing was constituted to visit schools and other institutions, and inspect trees in and around the premises to avoid any such incident. The committee has examined 204 schools, and is likely to submit report by Wednesday. After a survey of the 30 heritage trees, the administration decided to axe two trees and prune three trees.
Meanwhile, in a third such incident, a big branch of a tree at Government Girls Model Senior Secondary School, Chandigarh, fell on Tuesday.
As per school officials, the incident took place during school hours but the tree was located near the gate. No injuries or damages were reported. Director School Education Harsuhinder Pal Singh Brar said, “The horticulture department was informed and they removed the branch in a short time.”
