The High Court on Sunday asked the government authorities to maintain status-quo to prevent felling of roadsides trees on the proposed Jashore-Narail road to make it a six-lane highway.
The court, however, ruled that the status quo would stand vacated after floating of the tender for constructing the six-lane project linking road for transport from Khulna and Benapole to Dhaka through Padma Bridge.
The bench of Justice Md Khasruzzaman and Justice KM Zahid Sarwar issued the directive after hearing a writ petition filed by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh in public interest on May 5 challenging the legality of cutting down trees.
Earlier on May 7, the bench asked the government authorities to explain in four weeks why cutting down of roadsides trees on the proposed Jashore-Narail highway without floating a competitive tender for the construction would not be declared illegal.
The cabinet secretary, the principal secretary to the Prime Minister鈥檚 Office, the secretaries of the ministries of environment, forest and climate change, the local government division, the public administration and the road and highway division, the department of environment, the chief conservator of forests, the chief engineer of the roads and highways department and the inspector general of police to respondent to the rule.
The court, however, kept pending the HRPB petition to stay the tree felling for hearing.聽
HRPB lawyer Manzill Murshid told the HC on Sunday that the environment was being damaged by cutting down several hundred of the roadsides trees despite no tender was floated to develop the Jashore-Narail road.
He said that the government had only acquired land for construction of the road.聽聽聽
Referring to various newspaper reports, Manzill informed the court that prevention of tree felling was necessary as Dhaka might be the top city of heat-wave in 2023.
He argued that it was possible to develop the highway by protecting the trees as was done in the developed countries.聽聽
Manzill said that people鈥檚 sufferings caused by an extreme heatwave could not be reduced unless the tree felling was stopped.
Manzill said that none had the authority to cause obstruction to people鈥檚 rights to life as guaranteed by Article 32 of the constitution.
Deputy attorney general Bepul Bagmar argued that development work would be hampered if tree felling was halted.聽聽聽聽聽聽聽
He also argued that there was no law that prohibited cutting down trees.
The ministry of Road Transport and Bridges proposed the project titled 鈥榃idening and Development of the Narail national highway at a cost of Tk 180聽聽 crore.
Bhatiapara-Kalna-Lohagara-Narail-Jashore highway served as an important link road for transport from Khulna and Benapole to Dhaka.
On January 18, 2018, the High Court Division directed the government to maintain status quo by stopping felling centuries-old trees for six months on the Jashore-Benapole section of the Grand Trunk Road to make it a four-lane highway.
Manzill Murshid said that the roadside trees on the highway could be protected from cutting as the status quo was still in force.
He said that the government drew severe criticism from across the country for tree felling on the historic Jashore-Benapole road to make it a four-lane highway.