The High Court has ordered the removal of Mohipur union parishad (UP) chairman Md Fazlu Gazi and ward No 5 UP member Md Sobahan Howlader over the felling of 30 palm trees planted by the Forest Department in Kalapara, Patuakhali, in the name of road repairs. The court asked the relevant department of the Ministry of Local Government to act within 30 days.

The court also fined chairman Fazlu Gazi and member Sobahan Howlader Tk 2 lakh each, to be paid to the Kalapara upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) within 90 days of receiving a copy of the order. The UNO was told to use the money to buy palm trees and plant them along the road, and to spend the rest on their upkeep.

A High Court bench of Justice Abu Taher Md Saifur Rahman and Justice A K M Rabiul Hasan delivered the verdict on Sunday 27 August, disposing of a rule issued on whether legal action should be taken against them.

Lawyer Md Kamruzzaman Kochi appeared for Fazlu Gazi and member Sobahan Howlader at the hearing, and Deputy Attorney General Emran Ahmed Bhuiyan for the state. Lawyer Sheikh Md Sohel had brought the newspaper report to the court's attention, and lawyer Prashanta Kumar Karmakar appeared for the newspaper that published it.

Lawyers said the High Court ordered the dismissal of the two Patuakhali local representatives over the uprooting of 30 palm trees and at least 40 saplings of various species on the pretext of building a rural road. The Ministry of Local Government has been asked to act on the order within a month.

On 6 May an editorial in a national daily said at least 30 palm trees had been uprooted with an excavator over a week at Najibpur village in Mohipur union. The trees were 25 to 30 years old. At least 40 saplings of various species planted by the Forest Department along the road were also uprooted. Locals said the trees were uprooted without any permission on the orders of Mohipur UP chairman Md Fazlu Gazi and ward No 5 member Md Sobahan Howlader. Those who had planted the palm trees along the road said nothing openly for fear of the chairman but were seething inside.

The editorial added that although there is a campaign to plant palm trees to protect the environment and guard against lightning, public representatives are not heeding it. They do not bother to protect palm trees that nature-loving people have planted voluntarily, and some even damage them. A palm tree takes a long time to grow from seed to maturity, so there should be no scope to cut one down even with permission. Yet so many palm trees were being uprooted with an excavator for a week without permission, and nobody took notice. Neither the Forest Department nor the local administration came forward to save them. It called the matter very sad.

The High Court had summoned the local UP chairman and the ward member to explain the felling of the palm trees on both sides of the road without permission. It also sought explanations from the upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) and the agriculture officer over the felling, in the name of a Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) rural road development, of palm trees planted by the Forest Department. The bench of Justice Abu Taher Md Saifur Rahman and Justice A K M Rabiul Hasan issued that order suo motu on 7 May.

The order told them to appear in person on 18 May to explain, and said the UNO and the agriculture officer would jointly carry out an on-the-spot investigation.

On the set date, 18 May, the High Court ordered the temporary suspension of UP chairman Fazlu Gazi and ward No 5 UP member Sobahan Howlader. It asked the Ministry of Local Government to comply within a week, and said the suspension would remain in force until the rule was disposed of.

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