Malé, Maldives – The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has fined the Addu City Council MVR 30 million for cutting down a large number of trees and digging a water pond in the area.
This is the first time in the history of the council that such a large amount of fine has been imposed on an environmental issue.
The EPA said in a statement today that it had received complaints of illegally cutting trees and palm trees as well as digging the area to make a heart shaped pond in the Ruhjehera area in Addu City. The council planned to develop the area as a special picnic zone 2021.
The EPA said in a statement today that Addu City Council had cleared 17,000 square meters of land and removed 1,700 cubic meters of sand from the area to dig a heart-shaped water pond.
Therefore, the Addu City Council has been fined MVR 30.8 million under the Environmental Damage Compensation Rules and ordered to pay the money within one month, the EPA said in a statement.
The maximum compensation for environmental damage is MVR 100 million.
The project was carried out in collaboration with Addu City Council, Addu Friends and B.Tech.
