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The court made the rule after hearing a petition calling for an end to unregulated cutting down of trees
Published : 07 May 2024, 03:15 PM
The High Court has issued a rule asking why a national committee should not be formed to control the cutting down of trees across the country to protect the environment.
The bench of Justice Md Khasruzzaman and Justice KM Zahid Sarwar made the decision on Tuesday following the preliminary hearing of a writ petition.
The petition was filed by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh, a human rights and environmentalist organisation on May 5. The petition called for a halt to the felling of trees nationwide amid rising the persistent heatwave and the suffering of people due to the hot weather.
The petition was scheduled for a hearing on Tuesday. Advocate Manzil Morshed represented the petitioners in court.
“It is necessary to stop the cutting down of trees everywhere in order to implement the government’s commitment to protecting the environment. From the way reports are being published by media outlets, it seems there is a festival for tree cutting going on.”
During the hearing, Morshed argued that the number of trees and plants in Dhaka was rapidly dwindling, arguably past the number required for the capital’s residents to live healthy lives. He also pointed to the recent heatwave, saying that it had made the public miserable.
The cutting down of trees was ‘violating’ the right to a decent life, he said.
“The cutting down of trees planted according to the social forestry contracts across the country has had an adverse effect on the environment. If this is not stopped, Bangladesh will face environmental disaster and people’s right to life will be seriously affected.”
In response, the court issued the rule and gave the respondents two weeks to submit their responses to the following questions:
1. Why shouldn’t the inaction of the defendants to take measures to stop the felling of trees (except privately owned trees) across the country be declared illegal?
2. Why shouldn’t an order be issued to stop tree cutting in Dhaka city and other districts and upazila cities?
3. Why shouldn’t the provisions of the Social Forestry Rules 2004 be directed to attach the provision of payment to the contracting parties for planting trees?
4. Why shouldn’t the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change be instructed to form a seven-member committee consisting of environmentalists, ecologists, and professors from the departments of environmental science at Dhaka University and Jahangirnagar University within seven days to oversee the cutting of trees and approve their felling if necessary?
5. Why shouldn’t the Ministry of Public Administration be directed to issue a circular within seven days to stop the felling of trees and order the formation of a committee presided over by a deputy commissioner and consisting of a district environmental officer, the principal of a public college, social workers, environmentalists, the president or secretary of the district’s bar association, and the civil surgeon?
6. Why shouldn’t the Ministry of Public Administration be instructed to issue a circular within seven days to stop the cutting down of trees and order the formation of a committee led by the Upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) and consisting of a college principal, social workers, environmentalists, the social welfare officer, an assistant commissioner of land and coordinated by an executive engineer from the LGED, without whose permission trees cannot be cut down?
7. Why shouldn’t the respondents be directed to take appropriate measures to ensure that no trees are cut in their respective areas until the committee is constituted?
The cabinet secretary, chief secretary to the prime minister, secretary to the ministry of environment, forest and climate change, secretary to the ministry of local government, senior secretary to the ministry of public administration, secretary to the department of road transport and highways, director general of the environment department, the mayors and chief executive officers of the Dhaka North and Dhaka South city corporations, the chief engineer of the LGED, chief conservator of forests, chief engineer of the roads and highways department and inspector general of the Bangladesh police are all named as respondents in the petition.
