Rafiqul Islam
DHAKA, April 01 (BSS) – The Forest Department will soon intensify drives to evict illegal structures and establishments for recovering around 2.58 lakh acres of forestlands, occupied by encroachers across the country.
“Now we are conducting crash programme to recover forest lands in Gazipur and eviction dives in association with the Deputy Commissioners (DC) will be conducted soon across the country to recover the occupied forests,” Assistant Chief Conservator of forests ArifulHaqueBelal told BSS.
He said the Forest Department in collaboration with the local administrations will carry out the drives to recover the grabbed forest lands in Tangail, Mymensingh, Cox’s Bazar, Chattogram, Sylhet and other districts.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Environment, Forest and Climate Change on February 8 last at a meeting recommended for adopting an action plan to recover the occupied forest lands and starting works on priority basis to recover the forests where different establishments, structures and factories were erected illegally.
Officials of the Forest Department said they have already made a list of occupied forest lands and the occupants.
According to the list, 88,215 occupants encroached 1,38,614 acres of reserved forest across the country and some 72,351 grabbers occupied nearly 1,18,545 acres of other forests.
“We’ve to formulate an action plan to get back the occupied forest lands, though it will take time,” Belal said.
To formulate an action plan he said the Forest Department has to work with its divisional offices, in joint coordination with the local DC offices and public representatives.
According to a report by the Rainforest Foundation Norway (RFN), Bangladesh saw destruction or degradation of 66 square kilometres of tropical rainforest over the last 17 years. On an average four square kilometres of tropical rainforest had been destroyed or degraded in the country every year since 2002 to 2019.
The report found the total area of tropical rainforest in Bangladesh has been reduced to 900 square km in 2019 from 966 square km in 2001.
Speaking at a function held to mark The International Forest Day on March 21, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Mohammad ShahabUddin warned that illegal occupants must be evicted from the country’s forest lands at any cost.
“ Both the forest grabbers and the people who even colluded in occupying forest lands would face legal action ,” he said.
The minister said the forest officials, who would die or be injured in protecting or restoring forests, would be rewarded on the contrary, those who would help grabbers of the forests would be brought to the justice.
He sought cooperation of all concerned in recovering the occupied forest lands.
Former Chief Conservator of Forests IshtiaqUddin Ahmad said forests are being grabbed in many ways both powerful and landless people are behind the forest grabbing.
“Influential people occupy the forests for themselves and also for others. They help factory owners set up their industrial units inside the forests. Ethnic people in the Madhupur forest of Tangail occupy the forest for agricultural purposes. Later, the influential people took possessions of the forest lands from them in exchange of money,” he said.
Outlining the importance of forest recovery, Ishtiaq said at first, an extensive survey is needed to identity the grabbed forest lands and a list of occupants needs to be made to this end.
“Our reserved forests have no boundaries. The state of forests has been changed. Various establishments, including markets, shops, makeshift shanties and madrasas, were built inside the reserved forests,” he said.
Noting that the boundaries of the reserved forests should be demarcated following the gazette of the government, the former chief forest conservator said the Forest Department will not be capable of completing this work alone.
“The Land Survey Department must be involved in this work. Once, the boundaries of the reserved forests are identified with the help of the survey department, we will be able to say who occupy how much forest lands,” he added.
Following formulation of an action plan steps will have to be taken to recover the forests at any cost,” Ishtiaq said.