A show of hands, a chainsaw and no permit: WAMCO tears down Villimalé’s banyan

Three police officers soon arrived. One was raised up in the steel cage of the telehandler being used to take the tree apart.

Police told Niyaz the felling was lawful and that he would be arrested if he stayed. He climbed down about 20 minutes later. He was taken to the police station, advised and released.

A police officer told Maldives Independent journalists photographing the scene to stay behind what he called a police line, a thin strip of tape placed on only one of four sides leading to the banyan. Asked why men in plain clothes were allowed inside the line, he said they were staff of the state-owned Waste Management Corporation. 

The Malé City Council, whose permission the law requires for cutting trees on public land, says it never issued a permit. The Environmental Regulatory Authority says it instructed WAMCO in writing to stop. Work paused that afternoon but resumed on Sunday. The chainsaws were still running at the time of publication on Thursday afternoon (12 November).

The banyan has now been stripped of its crown. Branches and a few splintered limbs are strewn over the road with the telehandler, an excavator and other WAMCO vehicles parked beside it. 

"I think what really drove the desire to take action was knowing all the history that went into how the tree was 'permitted' to be cut," Niyaz told the Maldives Independent, referring to a town hall meeting a year ago where President Dr Mohamed Muizzu decided to cut down two banyan trees after taking a “vote” with a show of hands.

Niyaz said he happened to be in Villimalé to meet a friend when he saw the tree being cut down. Since there was no official at the site, he called a city council member to clarify whether it had been authorised. 

"It just felt wrong. This was a decision that Muizzu made with a show of hands at a town hall, the epitome of the facade that is the governance that we have," he said.

Police officers assured him that all required legal processes were followed before WAMCO began cutting down the tree. The officer who spoke to him on the tree told him he was engaging in an illegal activity in attempting to stop it and warned that he would be arrested, Niyaz said.

When workers in plain clothes first started sawing off the banyan's upper limbs on 4 November, with WAMCO staff helping to clear off the branches, the ERA and the Malé City Council were caught off guard. 

"Police are telling residents MCC gave permission. We didn't. Police cordoned the area, people in civilian clothes showed up to cut the tree, and now we're left asking who authorised any of this. We've asked our departments and no such document has been given," council member Hussain Furushan wrote after concerns were raised on X.

The ERA launched an inquiry the following afternoon. The watchdog instructed WAMCO to cease the cutting and sought police assistance to suspend the work pending verification of approvals, ERA Chief Executive Hassaan Mohamed told the Maldives Independent.

Police told ERA that WAMCO had indicated it had permission for the work, according to Hassaan. ERA asked to see the document. "However, no such documentation was provided to ERA," he said.

ERA “did not request or authorize the Maldives Police Service to facilitate the felling of the tree”, Hassaan said. The regulator learned that Villimalé police had cordoned off the site while WAMCO was cutting, raised concerns and asked police to help suspend the work instead.

It was later told verbally that there was "some confusion about the authorization to proceed with these works in this location", he said. The cordon was removed after coordination with ERA.

Hassaan said ERA told WAMCO at the time to "submit a detailed incident report concerning the removal of the banyan tree".

Work stopped on Thursday afternoon but resumed after the weekend. There was no cordon on Sunday. The Maldives Independent observed a bus struggling to pass through the WAMCO vehicles. A man in an improvised cage operated a chainsaw with no visible helmet or harness. There has been no police tape or cordon since then as work proceeded over the past week. The surrounding roads remained open to pedestrians.

The banyan tree is on Villimalé's plot number 18, a children's play area. It is estimated to be more than 50 years old. It is also on an updated registry of protected trees shared with the city council, although yet to be officially announced, Hassaan said.

"Irrespective of whether a tree is classified as protected, Article 7 of the Regulation [for Protection and Preservation of Island Vegetation and Flora in the Maldives (2022/R-92)] stipulates that the felling, uprooting, or relocation of any tree or palm exceeding 36 inches in circumference, situated on public roads or within communal areas, requires prior authorization from the respective Island or City Council," he said.

With a circumference of 13 metres, the banyan exceeds the threshold, thus requiring the city council's permission. Councils typically communicate with the ERA on the removal of protected trees, he explained.

"To date, ERA has not been provided with documentation demonstrating that the removal of the tree was authorized in accordance with the applicable regulatory requirements," Hassaan said.

Inspector Ahmed Shiyam, the police spokesman, refused to say which institution gave the approval to cut the tree, but stressed that "the required approvals from the relevant institutions” were taken.

“Police has the paperwork issued to approve that work, so we assist the work based on that. We do not believe there are any issues," he told the Maldives Independent.

Residents at the meeting in November last year where President Muizzu called the vote had complained that banyan tree roots were encroaching into neighbouring houses. Aminath Mohamed, who said she had lived in Villimalé for more than 30 years, told the president that families beside the tree would show visitors their bathrooms. "It really is full of roots," she said.

On 30 December 2025, the President’s Office instructed the environment ministry to implement the decision to remove two banyan trees. A banyan inside a ministry plot was cleared out earlier this year with permission from the ERA. However, the banyan on plot 18 was on public land and required permission from the city council. The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party won a supermajority of the council in April.

The Maldives Independent understands that the environment ministry wrote to the then ministry of cities, local government and public works on 25 February. The letter cited ERA advice that the trees be removed in accordance with the 2022 regulation and only as a last resort after trimming or relocation.

That letter is understood to be the “paperwork” on which WAMCO and police have relied. But it is not a permit from the city council, which is what the regulation requires. ERA has said it issued no approval for the work.

It is the third time in four months that WAMCO staff have been found cutting mature trees in Villimalé without the council's permission. On 13 July, WAMCO staff were pictured among those involved in cutting down a banyan tree inside a separate children’s playground. Such parks are among public spaces under the council's jurisdiction. The council said at the time that it was trying to identify those responsible.

On 23 July, city council staff halted attempts by a group of men, some in WAMCO uniform, to cut another tree at the same park.

“No trees are to be cut or trimmed without approval from [the council] and passed by the environment committee,” councillor Furushan wrote on X that day, calling it a "ridiculous overstepping of jurisdiction and boundaries".

The council opened the park in May 2021. Its photos from the time show the swings and the climbing wall under a full canopy.

All of the trees inside the park have since been reduced to stumps. Unlike the Block 18 banyan, the park trees were not part of the president's town hall pledge. 

The banyan is the latest flashpoint in a year of disputes over Villimalé’s trees, including a Bank of Maldives project to build three 17-storey towers in a laurel-wood grove with protected trees. Environmental groups say the island is one of Greater Malé’s last public green spaces. Some residents, who say their families need the housing, have confronted campaigners as outsiders.

Over the past week, WAMCO faced criticism on social media over a video posted last month promoting its "Aadhirun" recycling initiative. It spoke of using discarded wood from felled trees to make furniture like TV racks. Critics accused WAMCO of straying from its waste collection mandate and "taking over" municipal services in Villimalé from the elected city council. 

WAMCO did not respond to questions sent on Sunday. An official authorised to speak to the media could not be reached on the phone.