Forestry Dept clears 3,000 illegal durian trees in Raub

New Straits Times

6 days ago

RAUB: The Pahang Forestry Department has chopped down more than 3,000 durian trees illegally planted within the Gunung Benum Forest Reserve here, during an integrated enforcement operation dubbed 'Op Penguatkuasaan Bersepadu Tanaman Durian', which began on July 21.
The operation to fell the trees, aged between three and 40 years, was carried out following a decree by the Sultan of Pahang, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, who urged for immediate action to halt land encroachment activities across the state.
Pahang Forestry Department director Zainuddin Jamaluddin said the operation covered an area of about 250ha, equivalent to 351 football fields, and is expected to take two months to complete.
"Besides Musang King, D24, IOI and kampung variety durian trees, the enforcement team also cut down rambutan, mangosteen, petai and several other fruit trees planted within the forest reserve.
"The operation was supported by the police, People's Volunteer Corps (Rela), the Pahang Enforcement Unit and the General Operations Force. Enforcement teams have been deployed for round-the-clock surveillance at the site," he said when met today.
Zainuddin said that since the operation began, the department had not received any objections or threats from the farmers or planters involved.
"The farmers have complied with the department's firm action to destroy the trees illegally grown on encroached land.
"We issued eviction notices to those involved in illegal land clearing within the forest reserve on July 18," he said.
He said those found guilty under Section 32 of the National Forestry Act 1984 may be fined up to RM50,000, jailed for up to five years, or both.
Since the operation began last month, enforcement teams have cleared fruit trees from about 50 hectares of the forest reserve.
Zainuddin said one of the challenges faced during the operation was accessing the encroached areas, as the enforcement teams had to pass through privately owned land, which was sometimes fenced and locked.
"When landowners refuse to cooperate, authorities are forced to cut the locks.
"Most of the encroached areas are located behind private properties.
"Some landowners use closed-circuit television cameras to monitor the movement of enforcement teams and have refused to cooperate, giving various excuses to deny access through their orchards.
"Most of those who encroached into the forest reserve to operate durian and fruit orchards are locals. It is time we remove the crops and structures they built, and stop them from continuing to exploit the forest reserve and government land," he said.