Madhesh govt retrieves 442 hectares of encroached forest land

Janakpurdham, July 19: The Forest Directorate of Madhesh Province has recovered 442 hectares of forest land encroached for a long time. The Directorate shared information that it brought back the land under government ownership from different districts in the fiscal year 2081/82.     

The recovered forest lands are - 30 hectares in Dhanusha, 174 hectares in Sarlahi, 111 hectares in Saptari, 54 hectares in Bara, 45 hectares in Parsa, 12 hectares in Rautahat, 10 hectares in Siraha and three hectares in Mahottari districts.     

Director at Forest Directorate, Jagannath Prasad Jaiswal, however, informed that the forest land as much as 16,599 hectares was still encroached by various sides.     

Meanwhile, talking to RSS, Minister for Forest and Environment in the Province, Sanjay Kumar Yadav, said that only administrative mechanisms could not solve problems relating to the forest, so coordination from political and local mechanisms is essential.          

Secretary at the Ministry, Uddhav Bahadur Ghimire, said the subordinate offices were asked to act tough to reclaim the usurped land belonging to the forest. He vowed strict monitoring along with effective coordination with multiple sectors.          

Although the country has 45 per cent forest cover, Madhesh Province has only 3.72 per cent. (RSS)