The heart of a reserve forest in Moulvibazar district is reportedly in the process of being leased out to a private company for tea plantation. The 2,174.35 acres of land has long been in dispute between the local Forest Department and administration following a controversial survey decision and subsequent filing of a case with the Land Survey Tribunal. Amid this situation, several business houses are competing for taking lease of this disputed reserve forest area. Once it is leased out, all trees and plants would be cut for tea plantation.
Consequently, forest officials and green activists have directly blamed local offices concerned for misleading the highest office. They also warned that such a lease would lead to the destruction of the whole reserve forest. Unquestionably, if the middle part of the forest is used for tea plantation or any other purpose, it will eventually destroy the whole reserve forest and the surrounding forest areas.
We call on the government's legal, land and environmental authorities to jointly put an end to the prevailing dispute over the reserved forest area in Moulvibazar.
Forests and hills of the northeast of Bangladesh have endured enough destruction so far. And legal disputes or controversial survey reports must not exacerbate the scenario.
For the past two decades our forests have been going under testing times. The government must recognise the crucial need to conserve this precious natural reserve and not allow wealthy businessmen to convert out forests into money making ventures. The importance of a forest or tree cover, which acts as a shield against natural disasters, cannot be stressed enough.
The government must realise that without paying proper attention to and ensuring the protection of forests and the environment, Bangladesh would not be able to meet the Sustainable Development Goals, which emphasize environmental development and safeguard. We are left with a little over 10 percent forest reserves in the country (according to an ADB report in 2016) , much lesser than what we need for a proper ecological balance. We cannot afford to lose any more.
Measuring every development project not in monetary terms, but in environmental terms, is what is required for the good of the current and future generations. The government must step back on allowing its agencies or others to feast on forest land.
Finally we must keep in mind that not expanding a tea estate but protecting a forest is the constitutional responsibility of the government.
