The Cabinet has approved felling of 500 Sal trees, valued for timber, to develop the road from Joydebpur to Mauna, Cabinet Secretary Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan has said.
“The approval was given to implement the Joydebpur-Mymensingh road development project before time,” he said. “That is why the earlier decision not to cut down the trees in the reserved forest had to be partially relaxed.”The Cabinet had on Dec 31, 2010, decided not to cut down any tree from reserved forests until 2015.
“After testing the soil, it was seen that (road) alignment had to be changed and it became necessary to cut down the trees,” said the Cabinet Secretary on Monday.
The Sal trees will be cut down at Bhawal Garh area for implementing the Dhaka-Mymensigh four-lane project.
Bhuiyan said the army was overseeing construction of a section of the project.
The army first proposed to the Roads and Highways Department to cut down the trees and the latter then asked the Ministry of Forests and Environment for permission, he said.
The Cabinet had on Oct 31, 2012, approved felling of 5700 trees to implement the same project.-bdnews24.com
