The High Court on Tuesday directed the public administration secretary to form district-level committees within seven days to curb widespread and unregulated tree felling in cities and towns across the country.
The bench of Justice Fahmida Quader and Justice Mubina Asaf also imposed a ban on tree felling without prior approval from the district-level committees.
These committees will include deputy commissioners, district environmental officers, government college professors, social workers, environmentalists, district bar association presidents or secretaries, and district civil surgeons.
The court mandated that no tree could be felled without permission from these committees.
The court also instructed the public administration secretary to order deputy commissioners to form upazila-level committees within the same timeframe.
These upazila committees will consist of upazila nirbahi officers, college principals, social workers, environmentalists, assistant commissioners for land, and local government engineering division engineers to ensure stricter monitoring and regulation at the grassroots level.
The Department of Environment was also ordered to establish a central committee within seven days.
This committee, comprising environmentalists, environmental scientists, and professors of environmental science from Dhaka University and Jahangirnagar University, will oversee and provide permissions for tree felling, particularly in cases of national significance.
The High Court further observed that the Social Forestation Rules, 2004, should be amended to prohibit the felling of planted trees without due cause.
It recommended compensating planters with an equivalent amount of money when their planted trees are cut.
The directives came following a writ petition filed by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh in the public interest on May 6, 2024, highlighting the alarming trend of indiscriminate tree felling across the country.
HRBP president Manzill Murshid who moved the petition, labeled the practice a 鈥榝estival of tree felling鈥� and emphasised the urgent need for systemic oversight to protect the environment.
Manzill told 抖阴精品 that the district committees are also authorised to approve tree felling within the cities and towns.
He said that there is a bar from felling of trees within the forest.
This ruling aims to balance development needs with environmental conservation, ensuring stricter control on deforestation while promoting accountability at every level of governance.