DHAKA, Mar 21, 2021 (BSS) – Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister
Md Shahab Uddin today said illegal occupants will be evicted from the
country’s forests at any cost.
“Legal actions would be taken against both the forest grabbers and the
people, who assisted in grabbing forest land,” he told a discussion at Ban
Bhaban in the capital.
The Forest Department arranged the discussion with the theme ‘Forest
Restoration: A path to Recovery and Wellbeing’, marking the International
Forest Day-2021.
Deputy Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Begum Habibun
Nahar, Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Environment,
Forests and Climate Change Ministry Saber Hossain Chowdhury and Additional
Secretary of the ministry Ahmed Shamim Al Razi also spoke at the meeting with
Chief Conservator of Forest Md Amir Hossain Chowdhury in the chair.
Speaking as the chief guest, Shahab Uddin said the forest officials, who
would be injured in protecting or restoring forests, would be rewarded, while
those who would help grabbers to occupy forest would be given exemplary
punishment.
He hoped that the government would be successful in restoring the forests
with cooperation of all concerned.
The minister said about 138,613 acres of reserved forest, which were
grabbed earlier, has already been recovered.
He said the amount of tree resources in the Sundarbans has increased as a
result of various effective measures taken by the present government.
According to the National Forest Survey published in 2019, Shahab Uddin
said, the total carbon reserves in the Sundarbans are 139 million tonnes,
while it was 107 million tonnes in 2009.
He said the present government has strengthened the existing forest
conservation and afforestation progarmmes in the country with an aim to build
a prosperous Bangladesh through people’s participation, following the tree
plantation initiative taken by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman.
“On the golden jubilee of our independence, I call upon all to work
together for sustainable environment and forest development and building a
beautiful world for the future generations by dealing with adverse impacts of
climate change,” he said.
Habibun Nahar said the ministry was discouraging deforestation and
construction works in forests.
Paying tribute to the forest staff killed in forest protection, she said
the government has success stories in recovering grabbed forest land.
Saber Hossain Chowdhury said even an inch of forest land should not be
kept in encroachment. To this end, the contribution of the forest officials
must be evaluated, he said.
Forest Conservator Hasain Muhammad Nishad gave the welcome speech at the
meeting.
The theme was presented by Prof Dr Md Kamal Hossain of the Institute of
Forestry and Environmental Science, the University of Chattogram, while
Deputy Chief Conservator of Forest and Project Director of Sufal Project
Gobinda Roy briefed the overall activities of the Forest Department.
Cheques of Taka 15 lakh were distributed among each of five beneficiaries
of social forestry.