Over 200 hills levelled in a decade in Khagrachhari
25 cases pending with court, 20 more being filed
Site of a razed hill in Khagrachhari Sadar upazila.Photo: STAR
Over 200 hills were leveled in Khagrachhari district in last 10 years, according to sources in the Department of Environment (DoE). Most of these were in the suburbs of the hill town, done for housing projects. Lands around the town have become pricey because of new settlements. Besides, an unspecific number of hills were cut in Manikchhari, Laxmichhari, Panchhari, Mohalchhari, Ramghor, Manikchhari and Dighinala upazila in the district. Most of the hills were cut for building homes both by locals and outsiders, the sources said. Local influentials, mainly political party leaders, were directly or indirectly involved in the illegal hill cutting, allegedly done with the help of a section of government officials, the sources said. The DoE, Chittagong recently started a survey on hill cutting in Khagrachhari. “We hope it would be completed within a short time and then we will submit a detailed report to higher authorities”, an official of DoE said seeking anonymity. He said at lest 25 cases were field by the district administration in Khagrachhari, which are pending with courts. “We are preparing to file 20 more cases”. Influential groups having political clout cut hills indiscriminately mainly because of inaction by officials concerned, the official alleged. Mohammad Ibrahim Khalil, secretary of Parivesh Andolon Forum, an environmental organisation, said some unscrupulous traders are involved with the local influentials in the illegal hill cutting as supplying soil is a profitable business now. Often, heavy tools of government offices were used in hill cutting, Pradip Chowdhury, district coordinator of Center for Sustainable Development (CFSD) claimed. Bangladesh Environment Lawyers Association (Bela) in 2006 issued legal notices on some government officials and those engaged in hill cutting in eight upazila of the district, but to no effect. When asked, Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Monindra Kishore Majumder said, “We have sent show-cause notices to some government offices including Roads & Highways, LGRD, CHTDV, Khagrachhari Municipality and KHDC to explain why they allowed government instruments for hill cutting. “Action will be taken if they fail to give satisfactory explanation”, the ADM said. Deputy Commissioner (DC) Mohammad Shahdat Hossen said the administration is determined to protect the environment. Action will be taken for hill cutting without approval of the government or the Department of Environment (DoE), he said.
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