A decision to this effect was taken by a cabinet meeting, which also decided to form a committee to formulate the policy.[break] The committee members are drawn from five ministries - Forest and Soil Conservation, Defense, Finance, Home and Environment.
“There have been reports of massive tree-felling in community forests and the government has been criticized even when trees have been cut in private forests or for track road construction,” Forest Minister Deepak Bohara told Republica after the cabinet meeting.
Bohara informed that a new committee with participation from five ministries will set out a national forest policy within two months.
“The cabinet has imposed a complete ban on cutting down of trees for two months and by then we should have come up with a new policy.”
Except for transmission lines and hydro-power projects, no tree-cutting will be allowed anyhere, Bohara informed.
He also said that retired forestry officers and conservation experts will be invited to recommend to the committee ways to preserve forest areas.
Significantly, the cabinet has sacked two district forest officers, of Bara and Kailali districts, on the recommendation of the Ministry for Forest and Soil Conservation (MoFSC).
Making a presentation before the cabinet, Forest Minister Bohara proposed that MoFSC will not invite tenders for exporting sand and gravel until the new policy comes and no permission will be given to forest user groups in the Chure region to slash trees.
“The government is committed to punishing the guilty,” Bohara said, adding, “But all prevailing confusion must be cleared through a joint effort of all ministries concerned. It is time to take stock of the situation.”
MoFSC has also requested the government to declare forestry a priority sector and allocate an additional budget, especially for collecting information on poaching and other illegal activities. The government has allocated only Rs 30,000 for information collection so far.
Parliamentary team in Chitwan
Meanwhile, following reports of the deaths of eight one-horned rhinos in Chitwan National Park, a parliamentary team has reached Chitwan to study the latest incidents of rhino death.
The government has already sent four teams to six districts to learn about increasing poaching activities and deforestation issues.
Minister Bohara said that strict action will be taken against those found responsible in the deaths of the rhinos, on the recommendation of the parliamentary team once it returns to Kathmandu.
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