UP chairman's 'tree felling festival'
At least 735 roadside trees, worth about Tk 30 lakh, have been felled 'illegally' in Kalyani union under Pirgachha upazila of Rangpur during the last two months and sold at Tk 13 lakh only.
The trees include eucalyptus, acacia and neem, said villagers.
They blamed Md Nur Alam, chairman of the union parishad (UP), for the illegal tree felling.
A local non-governmental organisation (NGO) planted the trees on three-km road stretching from Hazra-Kazitari to Shantirmor under a social forestry project seven years ago. As per condition between beneficiaries and local UP, the trees cannot be axed in 15 years.
Caretaker, land owner and union parishad would get 20, 20 and 60 percent shares of the sale price under the contract. But nobody got their proper shares, said the victims.
Hired labourers were also seen axing trees at Kazitari village in the union on Wednesday.
Golam Mostafa, a land owner of the village, alleged that there were 12 trees on his one acre of land. He got only Tk 2,400 of the sale price. But, he was expecting much more than what he got.
Contacted, the UP chairman said logs of the felled trees were sold at Tk 13 lakh and claimed that he met all pre-required procedures for axing trees.
He also talked with beneficiaries before felling the trees, said Nur Alam.
Prior permission of local forest department is required to axe trees, but the chairman did not take any permission from the forest department, said AKM Altab Hossain, a forest official in Pirgachha upazila.
Upazila Nirbahi Officer Alia Ferdous Jahan said she will look into the allegation.
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