Forest land to be cleared from illegal occupations, says minister

Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Md Shahab Uddin has said the country's forest land will be cleared from illegal occupations at any cost. 

“Legal action will be taken against the persons who grabbed the land and those who assisted in,” he said.

Shahab Uddin said if any forest department person injures in the restoration of the occupied land, he will be rewarded.

The minister came up with the statement while addressing a meeting organized by the Forest Department on the occasion of International Forest Day-2021 on Sunday, said a press release.

This year the day is being observed under the theme "Forest Restoration: A path to recovery and wellbeing".

The forest minister said a significant portion of the 1,38,613 acres of reserved forest land has already been vacated.  The number of trees in Sundarbans, the largest forest in the country, has increased as a result.

According to the National Forest Survey published in 2019, the total carbon reserves in the Sundarbans are 139 million tons, compared to 107 million tons in the 2009 survey, the release said.

"On the golden jubilee of independence, I urge all to work together for a sustainable environment with developing forest, and to build a beautiful habitable world for the future generations," the minister said.

At the meeting, Deputy Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change Begum Habibun Nahar said that her ministry was discouraging deforestation and construction works in the forest area in the name of development.

Saber Hossain Chowdhury, chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, said that even an inch of forest land would not be kept in the illegal occupation. 

To this end, the contribution of the officials of the forest department will be evaluated, he said.