Concerns rise over mass tree felling

Trees have allegedly been felled indiscriminately in Nilphamari and nearby districts as part of the Bangladesh Water Development Board’s Teesta Irrigation Project rehabilitation and expansion. The project, worth Tk 1,500 crore, is Bangladesh’s largest irrigation initiative.
Located in Dalia, Nilphamari, the Teesta Irrigation Project currently supplies water to 12 upazilas across Nilphamari, Rangpur, and Dinajpur districts, though it only operates at partial capacity.
According to BWDB officials, the project’s rehabilitation and expansion will enable it to operate at full capacity. Initiated in July 2021, the project is slated for completion by December 2024.
As part of the project’s design, the 735-kilometre irrigation canal network is set to undergo renovation, repair, and widening. To accommodate this, a total of 1,04,000 trees within the project area were marked for felling, said Md Ahsan Habib, the project director and superintendent engineer of BWDB in Rangpur. The trees were grouped into lots, and tenders for their felling were called in mid-2022.
Multiple bidders were awarded work orders for felling specific lots.
However, allegations have surfaced that bidders, in collusion with some forest and BWDB officials, have been felling far more trees than authorised.
Sources from Rangpur forest department revealed that around 6 lakh timber and fruit trees had been planted in the Teesta project area during its initial phase in the 1990s.
GM Quader, chairman of the Jatiyo Party and former lawmaker of Rangpur-3, has claimed that approximately 4 lakh trees were felled by unscrupulous individuals associated with the project. He has called for an investigation into the matter, echoing similar allegations raised by locals and environmentalists.
These concerns were addressed at the Rangpur divisional commissioner’s office during a recent coordination committee meeting.
High-ranking forest department officials were instructed to provide clarification on the matter.
During a recent visit to several areas within the project site, including Ramnagar, Bahalipara, Kakra, and Khalisha Chapani, this correspondent observed vast barren stretches where trees had been felled. Environmentalist Prof Tuhin Wadud of Rangpur Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur warned that such large-scale tree felling could have disastrous effects on the region’s environment if not stopped immediately.
Atiqur Rahman, executive engineer of BWDB’s Nilphamari division, said tree felling has been halted temporarily, and reforestation efforts are planned. “We are concerned about protecting the environment and will plant new trees to replace the felled ones,” he stated.
Molla Md Mizanur Rahman, divisional forest officer in Rangpur, refuted allegations that 4 lakh trees had been cut.
He said the official target was 1.04 lakh trees, of which 80 percent had been felled. He also highlighted that 1.5 lakh trees are being planted within the project area, with 71 percent of them already planted.