Chennai THE Madras High Court on Monday restrained the Tiruvallur district administration not to fell the trees for setting up Periyar Memorial Samathuvapuram in Mamandoor. When a public interest writ petition from S Chakravarthi of Mamandoor came up before the First Bench comprising Chief Justice A K Ganguly and Justice F M Ibrahim Kalifulla, the government pleader sought time to obtain instructions from the government. The bench adjourned the matter to August 29. Till then no trees should be felled, it said. Petitioner contended that eucalyptus trees planted 30 years ago as part of afforestation programme were being felled for the samathuvapuram. The authorities ventured into the scheme without considering the necessity for preserv ing the existing trees. They had also failed to consider the alternative land availability, in particular the encroached government land, petitioner added. NOTICE ON CONTEMPT PLEA: Justice P R Shivakumar of the Madras High Court on Monday ordered notice on a contempt of court application from A D Senthureswaran, honorary secretary of Tamil Nadu Basket Ball Association, seeking to punish 16 persons for violating the court's earlier orders. According to Senthureswaran, the government in 1987 sanctioned a piece of land in Kilpauk on a 30-year lease to establish a basketball stadium. The indoor stadium named after former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa was constructed in 1993 and the association smoothly ran the affairs. While so, some disgruntled elements tried to malign the association and its office-bearers by starting a rival association under the same name. HIGH COURT DECLINES TO INTERFERE WITH ORDINANCE: The Madras High Court on Monday declined to interfere with the Tamil Nadu Ordinance 4 of 2008, which extended the immunity from action to violators of building rules and regulations till July 26, 2009. Since the matter was pending before the Supreme Court, which ordered naintenance of status-quo, it could not interfere with the matter, the First Bench comprising Chief Justice A K Ganguly and Justice F M Ibrahim Kalifulla observed. The Bench was disposing of a public interest writ petition from the Citizen Consumer and Civic Action Group (CAG), by its legal co-ordinator M Ramalakshmi, seeking to declare the Ordinance ultra vires of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.The Ordinance attempted to make a mockery of the orders of the Supreme Court and that of this High Court, petitioner said.