Attorney General Ahmed Usham says the government will appeal the High Court's temporary injunction to stop dredging work near Gulheefalhu to the Supreme Court.
The government's top lawyer stated that the Gulheefalhu project is worth billions and that around 80 percent of the dredging work was now completed. He said stopping the dredging work would cost millions to the government.
The High Court issued a temporary injunction to stop the dredging work after the Civil Court refused to issue such an order in a suit filed by a civilian at the Court.
The Plaintiff requested the Civil Court to issue an injunction to stop the dredging until the civil suit is resolved arguing that the reclamation work is harming the environment. But the lower court said that it could not issue such an injunction and the Plaintiff appealed to the High Court to overturn the lower court's decision.
The High Court deliberated on the appeal and moved to issue a temporary injunction to halt the dredging work on the Gulheefalhu project. The High Court also said that the injunction was valid till the Civil Court decided on the case.
The High Court's ruling said that the project was being carried out against the Environmental Impact Assessment made for the project and that the state was unable to provide evidence that disproves this knowing that it caused damage to the environment.
It also said that if the project is not stopped, the damage to the environment would be far greater than any financial loss sustained by the government for temporarily halting the project.
