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The environment ministry will plant Sal trees on 750 acres this year and on 6,610 acres over the next three years to restore the degraded Sal forests of Madhupur.
Environment adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan, following a visit there on Sunday, said this, adding that the government is committed to restoring the degraded Sal forests of Madhupur.
Alongside Sal, companion trees are also being planted with the active involvement of the local community, she said as the chief guest at a discussion programme held in Madhupur National Park marking the International Day for Biological Diversity.
She said that boundary demarcation of the Sal forest is underway, and boundary pillars have already been installed in the Rajabari area. “Only Sal trees will be allowed in the Sal forest,” she said. “Out of every 100 trees, 70 will be Sal, and 30 will be companion species—no foreign species will be allowed.”
She further announced the withdrawal of 129 cases but clarified that cases involving forestland encroachment or assault on forest officials would not be withdrawn. “No harassment of local communities will be tolerated,” she said, directing forest officials accordingly. “This is not a promise—this is a declaration.”
Addressing the Garo community, she said, “You cannot cultivate pineapple or banana on hundreds of acres using harmful pesticides and hormones that damage the Sal forest.”
She also stated, “No one—rich or poor—will receive forest land plots. Landless or river erosion-affected people will be rehabilitated on khas land, not in forest areas.”
At a discussion she launched the Sal forest restoration programme by planting 1,000 Sal saplings with local students. She later inaugurated the project titled “Restoration of Madhupur Sal Forest through Community Participation” in the Rajabari area and released peafowl and koi fish in the Sal forest and nearby ponds.
Earlier in the day, she officially inaugurated the Land Fair and the campaign to plant 500,000 trees by releasing balloons at the premises of the Tangail Deputy Commissioner’s office.
The event was chaired by Chief Conservator of Forests Md. Amir Hossain Chowdhury. Renowned wildlife expert Professor Dr Mohammad Ali Reza Khan attended as the keynote speaker.