The High Court has ruled that trees in towns and along roads across the country, including Dhaka, may only be felled with the permission of an expert committee. A bench of Justice Fahmida Quader and Justice Md Asif Hasan delivered the ruling on Thursday (15 January) after hearing a review of an earlier judgment. The permission will also be needed when trees have to be cut for a government project.

Senior lawyer Manzill Murshid argued for the writ, and Deputy Attorney General Muhammad Shafiqur Rahman represented the state. Manzill Murshid, the lawyer who filed the writ, confirmed the ruling to Jago News.

The court has formed committees to determine whether trees need to be cut. Trees in Dhaka, in district and upazila towns and along roads may be felled only after these committees give approval.

In 2024 the human rights and environmental organisation Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh filed a public interest writ in the High Court to stop rising temperatures and environmental pollution across the country and protect people's lives and health. The writ sought directions to form a designated committee in various district towns and upazilas.

After a hearing on 7 May 2024, the court issued a rule asking why tree felling by Dhaka's two city corporations and at district and upazila level should not be declared contrary to the environment and human rights. The rule also asked why, instead of cutting trees planted under the Social Forestry Rules 2004, the value of the trees should not be paid to those who planted them, and why approval from a seven-member committee should not be required at every level before trees are felled.

After hearing the rule, the court made it absolute and issued a judgment with directions. The court said in its judgment that as temperatures rise day by day, more trees need to be preserved. Large-scale felling would upset the balance of the environment, which would curtail people's right to life. The judgment said Bangladesh does not have the number of trees needed for environmental balance and that protecting trees is essential for the environment.

The court directed the Department of Environment to form, within seven days, a committee of environmentalists, environmental experts and professors of the environmental science departments of Dhaka and Jahangirnagar universities to grant permission for tree felling in Dhaka.

It also told the Ministry of Public Administration to issue a circular within seven days forming a committee of the deputy commissioner, the district environment officer, the principal of a government college, a social worker, an environmentalist, the president or general secretary of the district bar association and the district civil surgeon. This committee will give permission to fell trees in district towns.

In another order, the court directed that a circular be issued within seven days to all deputy commissioners to form, for tree felling at upazila level, a committee of the upazila nirbahi officer, a college principal, a social worker, an environmentalist, the social welfare officer and LGED executive engineers. This committee will grant permission for felling in upazila towns. The judgment further stated that trees planted under the Social Forestry Rules 2004 may not be cut; instead, the planter must be paid the equivalent value of the tree. The court directed that the Social Forestry Rules be amended accordingly.

Lawyer Manzill Murshid said that on 17 July last year an application was made seeking amendment and review of the part of the judgment saying no permission was needed to fell trees for government projects. After the hearing, the court granted the review on Thursday, so permission will now be required to fell trees for government projects as well. The respondents in the writ are 15 people, including the cabinet secretary and the public administration secretary.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.