The government has canceled the allocation of 700 (seven hundred) acres of forest land allocated in favor of the Ministry of Public Administration for the establishment of the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Academy of Public Administration.
The allocation of forest land has been canceled in view of the request of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan.
A letter sent on Sunday (November 10) signed by Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Land Aminur Rahman requested the Deputy Commissioner of Cox's Bazar to take appropriate action on the above-mentioned issue and send a report to the Ministry of Land.
The settlement in favor of the Ministry of Public Administration for the establishment of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Academy of Public Administration, comprising 400 acres of 'Hill' category of BS 25001 and 300 acres of 'Chhara' category of BS 25010 registered in the BS 1 Khatian of Jhilanja Mouza, Sadar Upazila, Cox's Bazar district, totaling 700 acres, has been gazette as a Protected Forest, and therefore the said settlement has been cancelled by order.
Earlier, the Environment Adviser sent a demi-official letter in this regard on August 29, 2024. The demi-official letter sent by the Adviser states that the settled area has been declared as a protected forest under Section 29 of the Forest Act, 1927 since 1935. This 2,145.02 acre piece of land is home to various species of plants including Gorjan, Chapalish, Telsur and various animals including elephants, monkeys and wild boars. Afforestation activities were carried out in this forest land in 2011-12 and 2012-13 to combat the effects of climate change.
The Forest Department filed a case in this regard as there was no mention of ‘protected forest’ in the records. In addition, a writ case was also filed in the High Court seeking cancellation of the land settlement. The Hon’ble High Court Division issued a stay order on this settlement, which is upheld in the Appellate Division.
In 1999, Jhilanja Union was declared an environmentally critical area and changes in the natural features of the forest land, including cutting of trees, were prohibited. 700 acres of protected forest are also included in this critical area.
Article 18 (a) of the Constitution and the UN Convention on Biological Diversity contain a commitment to forest conservation. This arrangement is against the public interest as the country's forest land is less than required.