LGED road inside reserved forest: Local MP stubbornly ignores Forest Department objections

❐ Staff Correspondent

Construction of two roads is underway in the ‘Baitarani Reserved Forest Area’ of Satkania Upazila of Chittagong, ignoring strong objections from the Environment Act and the Forest Department.

The revelation of the activities of the local MP himself and the issuance of a DO letter (semi-official letter) behind the construction of this road inside the forest by cutting down hills and hills at a cost of about 1.5 crore taka has created intense anger and excitement among environmentalists and conscious circles.

Experts fear that if this vast evergreen forest of 1,531 acres is fragmented, wildlife habitat will be destroyed and tree thieves and land grabbers will have free reign.

The construction of two roads through the Baitarni bit of Dohazari range in Satkania under the IRIDP-3 project of the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) began about eight months ago. The two roads are – ‘Barua Para Road’ (570 meters) and ‘Sualak Bridge to Siddiq Khamar Road’ (600 meters).

Forest Department documents say that the entire section of Barua Para Road and about 170 meters of Siddiq Khamar Road fall directly inside the reserved forest.

On the spot, it was found that the road structure has already been built by cutting down the high hills and hills inside the forest, and the scars of cutting the soil remain on the hills. However, there are no other settlements around this road except for only three to four houses!

The Forest Department has been raising written objections to the construction of a road inside the reserved forest since September last year. A report by the Forest Department on May 17 said that the construction of the road has destroyed the natural landscape and created a risk of serious landslides during the monsoon.

Chittagong region’s chief conservator of forests, Mihir Kumar Do, has clearly stated, “If a road passes through a protected forest area, human traffic will increase, which will create the risk of forest encroachment, tree felling, and trafficking of forest resources. There is no legal scope for building such a road inside the forest.”

Local MP (Chittagong-14) Mohammad Jasim Uddin Ahmed is desperate to get the road built, even though LGED has temporarily suspended work due to obstacles from the Forest Department.

He has already sent a DO letter to the relevant ministry.

When asked about this, he said, “Considering the suffering of the local people, the two roads are needed. The condition of the roads there is very bad. I have given the DO letter in the interest of the people. However, if there is a problem in the forest area, the rest of the work can be done by excluding that part.”

LGED Chittagong Executive Engineer Mohammad Abdul Matin said that despite the MP’s verbal request and sending pictures, they did not give permission to the contractor to start work again due to the lack of written permission from the Forest Department.

Experts say it is extremely worrying that the country’s legislators are taking a stand in favor of the destruction of protected forests.

Mohammad Kamal Hossain, a professor at the Institute of Forestry and Environmental Sciences at Chittagong University, strongly criticized the initiative, saying, “It is the constitutional responsibility of the state to preserve forest land and biodiversity. It is also the responsibility of a public representative to protect forests. Therefore, a plan to build a road inside a reserved forest on the initiative of a member of parliament cannot be acceptable in any way. This will seriously threaten biodiversity.”

The conflict between environment and development has now halted the work of cutting down the Baitarani hills. However, conscious circles are demanding that this suicidal decision to destroy protected forest areas, which are like lungs, in this era of climate crisis in the name of development, be immediately canceled.