Felling of Crudia Zeylanica: Gammanpila calls for arrest of Cabinet 

Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) leader Udaya Gammanpila yesterday called for the arrest of the Cabinet of Ministers for granting approval to illegally remove a rare and endemic Sri Lanka Legume (Crudia Zeylanica) tree in Daraluwa, Gampaha to make way for the Central Expressway.

“Despite the attempts to justify the act by claiming more trees of the species have been found, it is nevertheless illegal,” the MP said. “Accordingly the entire cabinet may be imprisoned for a period of one month,” he added. 

“They are now attempting to justify the act by claiming there are seven identified trees and they have planted 20 trees. They have also said they will plant 200 more. Nevertheless, the felling of the tree cannot be justified as it is an illegal act,” the MP noted.

The MP said the tree which has been arbitrarily felled is on the IUCN Red List of threatened species and is protected under S. 43 of the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance No 2 of 1937. 

Gammanpila stated that despite claims of equal application of the law, this particular incident has revealed that the cabinet considers itself to be above the law.

“As per the Schedule relating to S. 43, no one can harm a tree considered to be protected. Crudia Zeylanica of the Fabaceae family is included in the list under Schedule VI. Engaging in the act of cutting down that tree without making amendments to this Act is not only against the law but also constitutes an offence punishable by a one-month prison sentence,” he said. 

“With the tree being cut under the decision of the cabinet, it is clear that the Cabinet of Ministers has directly violated Section 43 of the Wildlife and Flora Protection Ordinance. In such a case, it is imperative for the police to proceed with the arrest of the cabinet members.” Gammanpila noted.