A Baset Panchagarh Correspondent:
In Panchagarh, despite the government compensating nursery owners with Tk 506,000, the buying and selling of environmentally harmful Eucalyptus and Akashmoni saplings continue unabated in local markets.

According to sources at the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Panchagarh, there are 40 registered nurseries across the five upazilas of the district. Among them, nursery owners who used to produce and sell Eucalyptus and Akashmoni saplings have received a total compensation of Tk 506,000 from the government. Despite this, these harmful species are still being sold freely in various local markets across the district.

Regarding the issue, Md. Abdul Matin, Deputy Director of the Panchagarh District Agricultural Extension Department, stated that on May 15, 2025, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change issued a directive. The order banned the planting, extraction, and sale of invasive species like Eucalyptus and Akashmoni in government, non-government, and individual-level tree plantation programs, as part of national and international commitments to conserve the environment, ecosystem, and biodiversity.

Instead, the directive encouraged the planting of indigenous fruit-bearing, forest, and medicinal tree species. Following this, registered nursery owners and the general public were made aware of the environmental damage caused by these invasive trees, such as rapid soil degradation and biodiversity loss.

A sapling destruction campaign was carried out jointly with the district administration, and compensation was provided to eligible nursery owners accordingly. Md. Matin further warned that if any registered and compensated nursery owner is found to be producing or marketing these saplings in the future, legal action will be taken against them.

However, he added that the agriculture department has no data on nurseries under the forest department, nor were they involved in any compensation for those.

In response, Manjurul Karim, acting Social Forestry Officer (Ranger) of Panchagarh, said, “There are no privately-owned nurseries under our department, and we have not received any compensation. However, the public is being discouraged from planting or marketing Eucalyptus and Akashmoni saplings as per government policy.”