Govt proposes Tk6.14b development plan for Arial Beel wetland
Advisor Rizwana Hasan said that Arial Beel will be declared as a protected site and a gazette notification will be issued
The government has proposed development projects worth Tk6.14 billion for the preservation and sustainable use of Arial Beel — the third-largest wetland in Bangladesh, spanning 136 square kilometres across Nawabganj and Dohar upazilas of Dhaka and Sreenagar upazila of Munshiganj — over a five-year period starting in 2026.
The plans were revealed in a recent study by the Institute of Water Modelling (IWM), presented at a national workshop titled "Study on the Living Standards and Integrated Water and Land Resource Management in the Arial Beel Area", held at the Bangladesh Water Development Board's conference room in Dhaka on Thursday (19 June).
Syeda Rizwana Hasan, advisor to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Water Resources, said, "We are working towards declaring the Arial Beel wetland area as a protected site. A gazette notification will be issued to this effect."
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She added, "All sluice gates and dams must be removed, and a list must be compiled of all illegal occupants. No land reclassification or sale should occur without informing the Deputy Commissioner."
IWM Director Gautam Chandra Mridha, in his keynote presentation, stated, "We have planned what projects can be worked on with Arial Beel from 2026 to 2030. Due to the Srinagar-Dohar embankment, eight canals have been disconnected from the Padma River and are now completely impassable. About 30% of this wetland has been filled and occupied."
He also highlighted fish farming and waste dumping from Dohar Municipality as major threats to water flow and environmental health.
The proposed Tk6.14 billion initiative includes 15 categories of work, divided into two main phases. Key components include re-excavation of canals, construction of H₂O loading and pedestrian bridges, canal protection with CC blocks, removal of illegal structures, and installation of boundary markers.
Additional works include land acquisition, crop compensation, fish sanctuaries, eco-tourism, biogas plants, and social forestry.
Other speakers, including Adilur Rahman Khan and Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, stressed the importance of transparency, waterway accessibility, and urgent environmental action.
The session concluded with a call for collective responsibility and sustainable management to restore Arial Beel's degraded ecosystem.
The workshop, organised to present the project findings, was chaired by Nazmul Ahsan, secretary of the Ministry of Water Resources, following a welcome address by Md Habibur Rahman, director general of the Bangladesh Haor and Wetland Development Department, which implemented the project.
