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The Sindh High Court (SHC) has ordered authorities to immediately stop cutting trees along Sharah-e-Faisal. The court also directed the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) and other relevant departments to submit a detailed report by August 12.
A two-member bench, led by Justice Zulfiqar Ali Sangi and Justice Nisar Ahmed Bhanbhro, issued the orders while hearing a petition filed by Abdul Hamid Ahmed Dagia. The petitioner accused authorities of violating environmental laws and court rulings.
Notices were issued to the Sindh government, the local government administrator, the forest and wildlife secretary, the SEPA director general, and others. The court barred all parties from felling any more trees until the next hearing.
Petitioner’s lawyer, Muhammad Ahmer, informed the court that his client, a businessman and environmental activist since 2015, had observed large-scale deforestation along Sharah-e-Faisal.
He claimed that contractors, working on behalf of government bodies, were cutting down the mature trees without required permissions, environmental clearances, or legal approvals.
The petition alleged that no Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), as required under the Sindh Environmental Protection Act, 2014, had been conducted or approved. The tree cutting was taking place without any public disclosure or judicial authorization.
The lawyer also cited a 2024 SHC ruling, which clearly stated that no tree shall be removed in Sind without approval from the competent authority and the respective sessions judge. The order emphasized relocation over destruction of trees.
