Why the sudden decision by NEA to remove roadside ferns?

Last month, two officers from the National Environment Agency (NEA) came to my house to ask if a huge pot of bird’s nest fern that was outside belonged to me.

When I answered in the affirmative and asked them the reason for their query, they replied that NEA has decided to destroy all bird's nest ferns "growing on trees, in the ground and in pots" because they are deemed a dengue hazard. 

Is that so? This is the first I, and many people I asked, have heard of it.

At a time when we are extolling the beauty of wild flowers being left to bloom and butterflies fluttering, why are we embarking on a campaign to destroy these gorgeous ferns, which take many, many years to grow and which are such a definitive feature of our natural landscape?

Why the sudden, seemingly arbitrary decision to remove all roadside ferns?

Can NEA please explain?

As for the fern, the officers insisted that I get rid of it, so I brought it in.

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