Court throws out injunction to halt mangrove reclamation
Nine out of 12 hectares to be reclaimed
Mangrove in Kulhudhuffushi island; nine out of 12 hectares are to be reclaimed to create an airport in the island
Kulhudhuffushi Magistrate Court on Monday threw out the injunction filed by an individual to halt the reclamation of the island’s mangrove, citing that the legal standing of the individual who had filed the case was unknown.
The injunction was filed on Sunday Mohamed Adam, native of the island, against Civil Aviation Authority.
In a response sent by the Magistrate Court on Monday said Mohamed Adam’s stature in filing the case was unknown. As such, the court filing the case as an individual cannot be deemed as valid grounds to accepting the case. The relevance to the individual and the case must be clearly established when filing the case for an injunction, the court said.
In the letter signed by Senior Magistrate Mohamed Niyaz, it noted that Mohamed Adam’s potential loss of rights with regards to the project had not been specified.
The injunction was filed with the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report.
Magistrate Court’s letter noted there was no indication that the report was an authentic one and the relevance of filing the report with the case. Filing the report as an academic evidence, it said, cannot be accepted.
The case stated the injunction was requested to halt potential economic losses to the island sustained as a result of airport development. The case added they had no issues over creating an airport in the island but said there were other possible locations that can house an airport. Therefore, the case noted, it was not acceptable to reclaim the mangrove.
The contractor, Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC), is to reclaim nine out the 12 hectares in the mangrove for the project. MTCC’s Trailing Suction Hopper Dredger, “Mahaa Jarraaf” will begin the project this week.
The EIA report said the project will have "lasting damage" and is "undesirable from a purely environmental perspective".
The mangrove in Kulhudhuffushi island is the largest of its kind in the country, and the island is among the Environment Ministry's identified "Environmentally Sensitive Areas". While the island previously had two mangrove areas, the area in the south was reclaimed for the island's development.
