The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has uncovered evidence of large-scale corruption in the Forest Department’s Tk 1.5 billion “Sufal” project, seizing key documents that reportedly detail embezzlement, fake payment claims, and irregular trading practices.
ACC officials said the commission would take legal action after completing an analysis of the seized documents.
According to ACC sources, the “Sustainable Forest and Livelihoods” (Sufal) project was launched in 2018 under the then Awami League government to promote sustainable forestry and afforestation across Bangladesh. The project, worth Tk 1,502 crore, was initially scheduled to run from July 2018 to June 2023.
However, despite the completion of the project period, a large portion of the planned activities remains incomplete. Investigators found that while funds were disbursed for nursery development and afforestation in 872 hectares of land over the last two fiscal years, much of the work was either partially done or not carried out at all.
In many areas, officials planted only a few seedlings to demarcate land boundaries but showed full-scale work on paper. For example, in the Joarianala Beat area of Ramu upazila, the project allocated funds to create plantations over 510 hectares in FY 2022–23, but only 160 hectares were actually developed. Similar irregularities were reported in 362 hectares during FY 2023–24.
According to the ACC report, significant portions of project funds were misappropriated by Forest Department officials and contractors through falsified documents and syndicated trading.
ACC Deputy Director (Public Relations) Md. Akhtarul Islam told reporters that the investigation team had submitted a report following a recent operation. “After reviewing the findings, the commission will take appropriate legal measures,” he said.
On February 24, an ACC team conducted raids at the Forest Department headquarters based on allegations of corruption and irregularities in the Sufal project.
The Forest Department claims that a total of 103,960 hectares of land have been afforested under the project — including 20,136 hectares in Cox’s Bazar and the rest across 23 other districts.
Data provided by the department show major afforestation activities in Noakhali (19,990 hectares), Cox’s Bazar South (11,668 hectares), Cox’s Bazar North (8,468 hectares), Bhola (8,420 hectares), Patuakhali (8,320 hectares), and Chittagong North (9,273 hectares). Smaller areas were covered in Tangail, Mymensingh, Dinajpur, Sylhet, and Rajshahi.
However, field visits by the ACC and local journalists revealed stark discrepancies. In the Rangtia Range area near the Nakshi border post in Sherpur, investigators found that only a single Chapalish tree had survived where full-scale plantations were shown in official reports.
Although project officials claimed that wild elephants had damaged plantations, ACC sources reported no visible signs of such attacks — the remaining trees appeared untouched and healthy.
The commission is now verifying financial transactions and project records before initiating prosecution against those involved.
Bd-pratidin English/ Jisan
