Case filed against NGO officials for cutting down trees

A case was filed against four people including two NGO officials Sunday at Dhamrai upazila in Savar for illegally cutting and selling 132 government trees from beside the road, reports UNB.

The accused are Director of NGO Shojag Abdul Matin, 62, manager of the NGO Md Masudur Rahman Masud, 50, buyer Md Naif Ali Bepari, 30, and Sodhu Bepari, 60.

The upazila forest officer Md Motalib Al Momin filed the case at Dhamrai police station on Sunday.

According to the complaint, Shojag cut down 132 trees from alongside 3 km of the road from Chapila area in Sombhag union to Naogaon and 1 km from Kushra union to Pothhara area without the approval of the forest department.

The NGO officials didn't pay any heed to the forest department officials when they were asked to refrain from cutting the trees. According to the upazila forest office, the trees were planted in 1990 under a World Food Program project worth around one million.

Forest officer Md Motalib said the fallen trees and instruments used for cutting them were seized. The NGO director Abdul Matin couldn't be contacted over the phone in this regard.

Officer-in-charge of Dhamrai police station Md Atiqur Rahman said legal actions will be taken against the accused in the case.

Upazila nirbahi officer Hossain Mohammad Hai Jaki said cutting trees from government-owned land is against the law and action will be taken in this regard soon.