13,000 trees to be cut down for gas lines

The government has granted permission for the construction of a gas line that will require cutting down 13,000 trees planted by the Gazipur Forestry Department.

However, it has also ordered the gas company to plant double that number of trees.

A cabinet meeting chaired by the prime minister on Monday granted permission for the initiative, said Cabinet Secretary Muhammad Shafiul Alam.

Speaking to reporters after the cabinet meeting, Shafiul Alam said the decision allowed the felling and removal of trees planted during an initiative to create natural forests by the Forestry Department in Gazipur.

The clearing of the trees would allow the construction of a 3 km gas transmission line by Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Co Ltd.

“13,356 trees and saplings will be cut to make way for the transmission line,” said the cabinet secretary. “4,011 of the trees are saleable, while the remaining 9,345 are still saplings.”

Though permission has been granted for the project, Titas Gas has also been ordered to plant double the number of trees cut down, said the cabinet secretary.

The matter was brought before the cabinet as there had been a ban on the removal of such trees until 2022.

“It is not possible to build the line around the trees,” Shafiul Alam said.

Asked about several cases where promises to plant trees were broken, the cabinet secretary said: “The cabinet will look into it.”

The cabinet also accepted a proposal mourning the passing of Pakistani Armyman-turned Freedom Fighter, diplomat and former Science and Information Technology Minister Mostofa Faruk Mohammad.