No civil service academy on Cox’s Bazar forest land: Parliamentary body

A parliamentary body today strongly opposed the public administration ministry's proposed plan to build a civil service academy on a 700-acre land at Cox's Bazar due to it being declared as protected forest and ecologically critical area.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has recommended that the government take steps to stop the project and relocate it to save the environment.

"We have asked the ministry to look into how the land was allocated for the implementation of the project," Saber Hossain Chowdhury, MP, chairman of the parliamentary watchdog, told The Daily Star today.

"The Forest Department today told the parliamentary committee that if the proposed project is implemented in the protected forest land, the ecology and the environment will be severely damaged," added Saber.

"We are recovering the forest land which has been grabbed by different individuals and organisations, therefore, it is unacceptable that a government department will take the protected forest land," he said.

Recently, news was published in various media outlets where it mentioned 700 acres of forest land had been allotted for the construction of a training academy for government officials.

The area of Jhilongja forest adjacent to Cox's Bazar-Teknaf Marine Drive is ecologically critical area.

Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Shahab Uddin, Deputy Minister Habibun Nahar, lawmakers Nazim Uddin Ahmed, Tanvir Shakil Joy, Khodeja Nasrin Akter Hossain and M. Shaheen Chakladar attended the meeting.