Former President and former Speaker of the People's Majlis, Mohamed Nasheed, has said that criminal charges can be filed against the Male' City Council for cutting down trees in Male' streets.

A video of the council cutting down trees in Vilimale' streets was recently shared on social media by a member of the public.

In a post on X today with the video, Nasheed said that the council is cutting down trees on Male' streets arbitrarily and illegally.

"I believe criminal charges should be filed against the council for this," Nasheed said.

In response, Male' Mayor Adam Azim said that the trees in Vilimale' streets were cut down at the request of Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC) because buses were hitting the trees and getting damaged after recent changes to the bus route.

Azim said new trees will be planted in Vilimale' next week.

Nasheed had previously filed a case with the Civil Court on October 1, 2022, regarding the cutting of trees on Ameenee Magu as part of the road development project. The case was filed against the then Ministry of National Planning, Housing and Infrastructure and Road Development Corporation (RDC), which was carrying out the Ameenee Magu work.

In that case, Nasheed argued that protecting the environment and providing a good environmental setting for future generations is a constitutional responsibility of government institutions. He noted that although the defendants claimed the trees had to be removed for the Ameenee Magu work, they had not explored options to carry out the work without removing the trees.

Nasheed also pointed out that the defendants had not considered the damage to residents and the environment from removing the trees. He highlighted that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report stated that removing the large trees on Ameenee Magu would increase flooding in the area and harm the health of residents in the area.

The EIA also noted that while new trees could be planted to replace those removed, it would take many years for them to grow and provide the same environmental and human benefits as the existing trees, according to Nasheed.

Therefore, Nasheed argued that the removal of trees from Ameenee Magu was being carried out in violation of the Environmental Protection and Preservation Act of Maldives, the Regulation on the Protection of Trees and Plants in the Islands of Maldives, Article 23 of the Constitution (which states it's the state's responsibility to provide a clean and healthy environment for citizens), the Climate Emergency Declaration, and the Paris Agreement.

Nasheed also requested a temporary order to stop the uprooting of trees on Ameenee Magu before a decision was made on the main subject of the lawsuit.

The Civil Court ruled on October 9, 2022, that it could not issue the order as Nasheed requested. The court cited three points in its ruling, including that there was no clear legal right or legal status established for the party requesting the order, that there was no evidence of irreparable danger or damage if the main case was delayed without issuing a temporary order, and that the party requesting the temporary order was not legally qualified to do so.

Later, on March 26, 2023, Nasheed withdrew the case.