The Meghalaya High Court has directed the Chief Secretary to constitute a committee of three officials who will advise the government to stop indiscriminate felling of trees throughout the State.
“The government will act in accordance with such advice,” a division bench of the High Court consisting of Chief Justice Indra Prasanna Mukerji and Justice Wanlura Diengdoh said.
The court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation, filed by Geraldine G. Shabong, which initially sought orders to stop illegal or irregular felling of trees in and around the Lower New Colony area, Laitumkhrah.
The court said the committee will also scrutinize the report filed before it, which include the applications to permit felling of trees along with the report of the local forest officers. The committee is also tasked to make an independent enquiry and issue necessary directions to the Forest department to fell the trees or to refrain from doing so or to take any measures for their preservation.
“Take District by District and deal with the applications for felling of the trees in those Districts in accordance with law passing suitable directions binding on the respondents and the local forest officials,” the court said.
The division bench said that the committee should be headed by the Chief Conservator of Forests with an expert in Botany, a government or private employee, and a senior administrative officer not below the rank of Secretary.
During the hearing, a report was also submitted before the court that officers of the rank of Range Forest Officer or Beat Forest Officer have been processing the applications and that they have recommended large scale felling of trees on the ground that their position was such that they posed a threat to life and property.
The court ordered that none of the pending applications mentioned in the report should be processed and no tree shall be felled.
“Trees are very precious to this State contributing to its great natural beauty, environment and ecological balance. We would only permit their felling if absolutely necessary for the preservation of life and property,” the court said.
The court also took judicial notice that without any application, many culprits are taking the law into their own hands by indiscriminately felling trees, then converting the trunks into logs, uploading them to transport vehicles and doing commercial transactions with them on a large scale.
“Unless a particular tree is so imminently dangerous that it cannot be permitted to stand even for some time without causing danger to life and property, the local forest officials shall not permit felling of any tree,” the court ordered.
The court has also taken note of the submission of the Advocate General that the Meghalaya Tree (Preservation) Act, 1976 and the Meghalaya Tree (Preservation) Rules, 1976 applied to the Municipality and Cantonment area of Shillong and that the rest of the State is covered by the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 read with the Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2003 read with any change in nomenclature.
The court said that the order does not cover any case where the Central government has accorded permission for forest clearance under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 for any development purpose or any direction made by it for deforestation and afforestation.
“We have also not been called upon to adjudge the validity of any such permission. The State respondents are to file a report on the basis of the deliberation and decision taken by the above Committee, before the next returnable date,” the order stated.
The next hearing is scheduled on June 12, 2025.
