Sabajpur tea garden in Barlekha upazila of Moulvibazar stands accused of cutting and selling trees without approval from the forest department or any other authority. The matter came to light when a drive by the upazila administration seized more than 700 cubic feet of timber.

Local sources say several hundred trees were felled over the past two months at Baikunthanagar, Bipin Tila, Under Tila and nearby hills in the southern part of the garden. Large trees on the slopes were brought down with elephants, loaded on trucks and sold to Mizan Uddin, a timber trader from Beanibazar, and several local buyers, the allegations say. The timber was first stored near the garden office and factory and sent to sawmills at dawn. Several residents, speaking anonymously, alleged a quiet understanding with some forest officials; the forest department has not commented on that.

After the complaint, assistant commissioner (land) Naima Nadia inspected the garden with forest officials and found large quantities of felled timber at various points; the estate could not produce a valid permit from the forest department, the Bangladesh Tea Board or any other authority. On her instruction the range officer seized about 500 cubic feet of timber near the garden office. Naima Nadia said the estate has been ordered to keep the felled trees as they are, and the forest department to measure everything and report; legal action will follow. Cutting trees on a tea garden is not lawful without final approval from the Tea Board and the forest department, she said.

Barlekha range officer Nilotpal Sarkar said the estate appears to have cut the trees without the required approval, which also raises the risk of lost government revenue. About 500 cubic feet were seized on the first day, and a drive inside the garden on Sunday found 130 stumps and more than 200 cubic feet of cut timber — over 700 cubic feet in all so far, with a detailed report to follow the final measurement.

Garden manager Nahid Ahmed Chowdhury said Tea Board conditions require an estate to bring 2.5 percent of its total land under new tea each year; to meet that, the estate applied to the Tea Board in April for permission to remove diseased and storm-damaged trees on 125 acres, and the application is in process.

Residents ask how two months of open felling, elephants hauling logs down the hills and trucks carrying them out escaped the notice of the officials concerned. People in environment and forestry say cutting a tea garden's trees without approval is more than a breach of the rules — it is a serious threat to local biodiversity and wildlife habitat — and they want an impartial inquiry and action against those responsible.

Source: banglanews24