Housing and Public Works Minister R A M Obaidul Muktadir Chowdhury has directed that a condition requiring trees to be planted on vacant space be added to building plan approvals. "I have asked that a condition be added to the terms on which RAJUK approves plans for houses, so that people plant trees on the remaining space of the house. Let them make at least a flower garden. That too will do some afforestation work," he said.

He was speaking as chief guest at the inauguration of tree plantation week, organised by the Ministry of Housing and Public Works, at the mechanical stackyard in Sector 1 of Purbachal on Monday (8 July) morning.

The week is being celebrated under the theme "Let us adorn the country with trees, enrich Bangladesh". The ministry has set a target of planting five lakh trees this year.

The minister said the Prime Minister's directive is to turn tree planting into a social movement. Many trees have been planted in Bangladesh through government and private initiatives, but there are shortfalls. Trees will be planted on the vacant parts of land owned or controlled by the ministry and its departments and agencies. "We have set a target of planting five lakh trees in the coming year. I seek the cooperation of officials, employees and everyone present in achieving it," he said.

He added that care must be taken that trees are planted on at least 20 per cent when houses are built in Purbachal. They can be fruit, timber or medicinal trees of any kind. At the same time, people can grow vegetables for their own table; green chillies and many such things can be grown on a veranda, the roof or in the yard.

Presiding over the event, Housing and Public Works Secretary Md Nabirul Islam called on everyone working in the ministry's departments and agencies to take part in the tree-planting programme.

"Planting trees does not take much time; we must not neglect office work while doing it. Trees can easily be planted alongside office work," he said. The secretary stressed making urban agriculture more popular in Dhaka and other cities.

At the end of the event, the minister and the secretary each planted a coconut sapling on vacant land at the mechanical stackyard.

RAJUK's Md Siddiqur Rahman spoke as special guest. Afterwards the minister answered questions from students of RAJUK Uttara Model College and American International University-Bangladesh.

Md Shamim Akhter, chief engineer of the Public Works Department, Mir Manzurur Rahman, chief architect of the Department of Architecture, senior officials of the ministry's departments and agencies and local dignitaries were present.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.