HC halts plan to fell 4,000 trees in Manikganj

The High Court (HC) has issued a rule to maintain the status over the decision of cutting down 4,000 trees by the Singair-Manikganj road in Manikganj district.

An HC bench of Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury and Justice Md Iqbal Kabir passed the order on Tuesday after hearing a writ petition.

The court also issued a rule asking the authorities concerned to explain as to why their decision to cut down the trees should not be declared illegal.

In the rule, it wanted to know why directives should not be given to preserve the trees after revising the road construction plan.

Road Transport and Bridges, and Environment secretaries, deputy director of the Department of Environment, chief engineer of Roads and Highways Division, deputy commissioner of Manikganj and the officer-in-charge of Singair Police Station were asked to respond to the rule within four weeks.

UNB said, HC lawyer Jyotirmoy Barua filed the writ petition attaching a report published on a Bangla daily on January 25 over felling 4,000 trees by the Singair-Manikganj road.