5 March 2003 The Independent
Audity Falguni, back from Bandarban
Reckless destruction of hills in Bandarban and other areas of the greater Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) in utter disregard for the need for preserving ecological balance, is causing serious concern among environmentalists and the residents of the hills who are helplessly watching these nature’s bounties disappear.
All the three hill districts ?Rangamati, Khagrachhari and Bandarban?have suffered the onslaught of the hill cutters; but lately it is Bandarban which is suffering the most. A visitor on arrival at the picturesque hill town of Khagrachhari is taken aback by the shocking sight of razing of hills.
No one can tell for sure how many hills have been razed over the years to meet the rising demand of modernisation and development, but according to one yet unconfirmed estimate, a major chunk of around 373,930 acres of hill land of greater hill tracts district has been levelled with accompanying wanton destruction of forests.
Hills are being razed for implementing public as well as private projects, some with the approval of the competent authority, others without. Hills are also being encroached for setting up brick kilns and other non priority projects, which could be allocated to other areas.
According to a report published in a recent issue of Eco File journal, large-scale destruction of hills began since the launching of CDA Master Plan in 1961. The destruction spree reached its height during the 1972-2002 period.
It may be mentioned that Bangladesh Legal Aid and Service Trust ( BLAST) filed a writ petition before the High Court wanting to know from the government the number of hills that existed in the pre-independence days, how many still exist and how many have been destroyed fully or partially.
A High Court Division bench directed the government to furnish information on what legal steps it had taken against illegal destruction of hills, how many hills are needed to preserve the ecological balance and under what conditions administrative approvals were given to cut the hills.
The government is yet to submit its replies.
According to legal experts, Building Construction Act 1952 was amended in 1990 making it an offence to cut hills without the permission of proper authority. Violation of this law, as amended, entails a penalty of up to seven years’ imprisonment. Illegal cutting of hills is a non-bailable offence. Yet cutting of hills goes on.
It is alleged that a racket of local criminals, unscrupulous forest department officials, a section of local political leaders and real estate companies are destroying hills particularly in Balaghat, Ruma, Thanchi and Naikhkhangchari areas of Bandarban.
When this reporter visited the Balaghat area of Bandarban town recently, she found a heavy bulldozer engaged in cutting a hill. Two workers at the site introduced themselves as employees of the Bandarban radio station construction project of Public Works Department (PWD) of Bandarban.
U Tha Mong, 70, former Marma chairman of the Balaghat area complained, "This is my hill but the PWD people are cutting it down without my permission. I have filed a case in the court but in vain."
This reporter also visited the construction site of Bandarban radio station and found workers filling the site with the earth cut from the hills.
When contacted, Executive Engineer of Bandarban PWD Mohammad Alam said, "We are not involved. Although Banderban PWD undertook this 26-crore taka project for construction of radio station on 20 acres of land in 1998-99, we cannot go ahead with the work unless we get permission from the Department of Environment (DOE), Chittagong branch office."
He informed that the project work was initially supposed to be completed by June 2004. He further said that a local committee comprising the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Banderban has also been found to keep in contact with the Ministry of Housing and Public Works on this particular project.
The committee has already held several meetings on the issue of radio station construction, he added.
"Only after getting permission from the DOE, would the Ministry of Housing
and Public Works consider all our meeting minutes and might approve the project
finally," he said. But he could not give a satisfactory reply when asked
when then were PWD workers cutting the hill. Officials of the Department of
Forest (DOF) at Bandarban ? expressed their ignorance about it.