The youths illegally occupied four acres of land on January 13, 1999 in the name of a youth organisation --Juba Artho Samajik Unnayan Sangstha then cut down trees and dug a pond on it.

Officials at the Ministry of Environment and Forest said the forest department filed a case against the organisation but it is still pending with the court.

They said there has been tremendous pressure and lobbying to withdraw the case to recover the land, and that a local lawmaker recently initiated a move in favour of the encroachers.

In a letter to the Ministry of Environment and Forest, Jatiya Party legislator Nur Mohammad Mandal, an advisor and patron of the youth organisation, requested the ministry to withdraw the case.

He claimed that unemployed youths belonging to the organisation purchased 30-35 acres of private land, including the four acres, at Hasharpara in Madankhali union of Pirganj, and dug a pond on it between 1999 and 2001. But the forest department recently cut down 870 trees on the land, occupied 3.50 acres and also filed a case concerning it.

In his letter, the lawmaker from Rangpur-6 (Pirganj) constituency said unemployed youths are using the land for fish cultivation, tree plantation, and rearing of poultry birds and cattle. The case should be withdrawn considering such employment generating activities, he added.

The forest department in a report to the ministry said however it has 83.88 acres of forestland at Hasharpara, which it received in 1969 and where it is has been carrying out participatory forestry programmes since 1983.

But the youth organisation forcibly encroached upon four acres of the land, despite efforts by the forest department to resist them. The department then filed a case.

When contacted, State Minister for Environment and Forest Jafrul Islam Chowdhury said the forestland was illegally occupied, and the case will not be withdrawn despite the lawmaker's request.

The authorities concerned have been instructed to take steps for an early settlement of the case. "We have launched a massive drive to recover forestland encroached upon across the country," he added.

The state minister mentioned that thousands of acres of protected or reserved forestland were occupied by influential people over the years using forged documents. The ministry has now taken initiatives to recover the land through legal battles, he added.