Court issues directive to halt deforestation at Bogahapalassa reserve

The Court of Appeal has issued an order to the Director General of the Wildlife Conservation Department and the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to take action to prevent the illegal deforestation taking place within the Bogahapalassa Forest Reserve. 

This order has been issued by a judge bench consisting of the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Nissanka Bandula Karunaratne and Justice Sasi Mahendran, while considering a petition submitted by the Centre for Environmental Justice.

During the case was taken up today, Attorney-at-Law Ravindranath Dabare, appearing on behalf of the petitioning party, informed the court that a certain group is engaging in deforestation in a section of the Bogahapalassa Forest Reserve while claiming that it belongs to the Soragune Devalaya in Kataragama. 

Therefore, the attorney requested the court to issue a restraining order to prevent further environmental damage in the area.

The court granted the request and issued the order, while ordering for the petition to be recalled on July 24.