UP chairman auctions off live trees as dead
Villagers in Baura union of Patgram upazila reacted with disbelief after they found out that the union parishad (UP) chairman himself auctioned off 240 live trees beside a road.
Urging deputy commissioner (DC) of Lalmonirhat to save those, they, in a written complaint, alleged that the UP chairman and a UP member with the connivance of upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) and upazila forest officer classified the trees as dead so a tree trader could win the bidding in the auction.
During a visit to the road -- between Rail Gate and Safirhat via Kanthatala and Gedaitari -- this correspondent found the trees to be in good health.
Many of the villagers said UP Chairman Dulal Basuniya with the help of UP Member Abdul Matin, UNO Abdul Karim and Upazila Forest Officer Badsha Miah manipulated the auction in favour of local tree contractor Forman Ali.
They said the perfectly healthy and matured trees -- mostly mahogany, neem and eucalyptus -- were auctioned off on April 8 for only Tk 3,55,000.
The villagers said they will, by any means, resist the culprits from causing harm to their environment.
Amir Ali, a villager, said, “The greenery supplies oxygen and keeps our environment cool. In return, how can we allow those to be felled?”
“The UP chairman and the UP member auctioned off the live trees for their personal financial gains,” alleged Abdus Sattar, an elderly resident of the village.
Confirming that he won the bidding in an auction to fell 240 roadside trees, contractor Forman Ali told this correspondent that he was yet to get a work order for the job.
Refuting the accusation of irregularities, UP Chairman Dulal Basuniya told this correspondent that the trees were auctioned off in open bidding by the UNO, following an assessment report by the forest department.
Asked whether he can arbitrarily authorise felling of healthy and matured trees without those causing any harm, he braggingly said, “This season, I am auctioning off 1,800 more roadside trees on different roads in my union as new trees would be planted there.”
Speaking with this correspondent, Upazila Forest Officer Badsha Miah said the roadside trees were categorised under firewood, not wood.
“We only approved dead and risky trees for auctioning, not live trees,” he claimed.
UNO Abdul Karim said, although the roadside trees were auctioned off, the auction winner is yet to receive work order for felling those. “The UP chairman can still decide whether to save the live roadside trees because the union parishad is the owner of the trees.”
Contacted, DC Shafiul Arif said, he asked the UNO of Patgram to probe into the allegations made by the villagers by visiting the area and submit a report to him within 14 workdays, recommending necessary steps with regards to saving live trees by the road.
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