Aizawl, April 22 -- The Aizawl bench of the Gauhati High Court has directed the Mizoram government to temporarily halt the ongoing felling of trees in Aizawl's Lammual area, which was recently vacated by the Assam Rifles.

The directive follows a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by environmental activist Siazampuii Sailo on behalf of the Centre for Environment and Social Justice (CESJ).

In a ruling issued on Monday, a division bench comprising Justice Michael Zothankhuma and Justice Kaushik Goswami noted media reports indicating that 174 out of 400 trees are being felled to pave the way for development projects within the Lammual area.

Many of these trees are believed to be over a century old.

The court also observed that the bar...