CHITTAGONG, Jan 13: The process of land acquisition for the proposed Mirsarai special economic zone remains suspended due to opposition from forest department.
At least 5.0 million trees and saplings will have to be felled in the reserved forest under the proposed 7,716-acre Mirsarai SEZ, senior officials of Coastal Forest Department in Chittagong said.
At the same time, biodiversity of the area, including existence of deer, monkey, snake and other fauna, will face extinction, they added.
A recent survey conducted by forest department revealed such a disastrous picture, they said, adding that the ministry of forest and environment, local district administration and other departments concerned had already been apprised of the matter.
Additional Deputy Commissioner (Land Acquisition) Mohammed Shahriaz said forest department had sent a letter to the local administration in this regard. But it is the government who will take the final decision, he added.
According to official sources, the project was approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council and the local administration was instructed by the
Prime Minister's Office (PMO) on October 16 last year to start the process of land acquisition.
The district administration had already conducted a survey on the land in the specialised economic zones at Mirsarai and Anwara and was awaiting instructions from the government to go ahead with the next course of action.
Deputy Conservator of Forests and Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of the Coastal Forest Department RSM Munirul Islam told the FE that 853 acres of land in five mouzas of Mirsarai are under Notified Reserved Forest (NRF). According to Section 4 of the Forest Act 1927, the NRFs are considered as finally declared reserved forests.
"We have submitted our findings to the higher authority in Dhaka and all related departments of the government. Now it is the government which will take the final decision on the issue," he said.
Notified Reserved Forest of Pirer Char, Shilpo Char, Sadhur Char and Char Mosharrof Mouza have been included in the proposed SEZ. Some 205.06 acres of reserved forest land at Gohira Mouza has also been included, he said.
According to the forest officials, about 0.2 million acres of land from the bank of Feni River to Teknaf coast in the Bay have been brought under the gazette of 1997 and 1995 as reserved forest area.
Chief Conservator of Forests Md Yunus Ali in his letter to the ministry of forests and environment last year said as per Forest Act, the reserved forest can be used for afforestation only, not for other purposes.
Preservation of forest land is necessary to protect the biodiversity of the area, to protect people and habitat from climate changes and surge of sea water, he said.
Director of Environment in Chittagong Shahidul Islam said the authority concerned in the BEZA (Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority) applied for clearance from the Environment Department for the SEZ projects at Mirsarai and Anwara, but it is yet to issue the clearance certificate.
Primarily the Chittagong district administration proposed 6,156 acres of land in nine mouzas for the Mirsarai SEZ. But the administration included another 1,000 acres of land at Pirer Char for the SEZ totaling the SEZ area to 7716.85 acres after the land record and survey is accomplished which later received administrative approval.
The government approved in principle five SEZs including Mirsarai and Anwara in Chittagong on April 18, 2012 for creation of jobs, rapid industrialisation in the country and draw investment from home and abroad.
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Inclusion of coastal forest in Mirsarai SEZ opposed
Pankaj Dastider | Published: January 14, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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