Chattogram Hill Management Committee forms expert panel to assess conditions of hills

The Chattogram Hill Management Committee on Monday decided to form an expert panel to assess the current condition of the city’s hills and update information on how they have changed over time.

The committee also resolved to update the list of risky hill settlements, disconnect illegal electricity, water and gas connections, strengthen drives against hill cutting, and hold meetings every three months as required.

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The decisions were taken at the committee’s 32nd meeting held at the Chattogram Circuit House, chaired by Divisional Commissioner Md Ziauddin, the committee’s convener.

At the start of the meeting, one participant criticised the one year and two-month gap since the last session, saying such delays undermine efforts to protect hills and prevent illegal activities.

Members agreed that the expert committee will determine how many hills currently exist in Chattogram, how many existed in the past and how they have changed.

The panel will include teachers from the Chittagong University and Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET), particularly from geography, soil science, forestry and environmental studies departments, alongside representatives from the district administration, the Department of Environment, the Forest Department and other agencies.

It was mentioned in the meeting that authorities carried out 55 drives in Satkania over the past year, filing 25 cases, sentencing five people to jail, imposing fines of Tk 2.2 million and destroying 32 excavators used for illegal hill cutting. In Mirsharai, 28 drives led to six cases, three eviction drives and the demolition of 15 illegal structures, while 10 excavators were destroyed. In Hathazari, five drives resulted in three cases.

Members expressed dissatisfaction over the slow progress in disconnecting illegal utility connections at hill settlements. The committee directed agencies to submit updated lists with evidence of disconnected utilities and asked all organisations that own or manage hills, including Chattogram WASA and Chattogram City Corporation, to prepare updated lists of illegal occupants.

Among those present were CMP Deputy Commissioner (South Traffic) Liaquat Ali Khan, Department of Environment’s Ctg Metro Director Sonia Sultana, Bangladesh Railway Divisional Estate Officer Nur-e-Jannat Rumi, Chattogram City Corporation Special Magistrate Shoaib Uddin Khan, Chattogram Development Authority Deputy Chief Town Planner Md Abu Isa Ansari, Divisional Forest Officer Mohammad Sohel Rana, and other officials from the district administration and relevant agencies.