CHITTAGONG, Feb 25: A tug-of-war between Chittagong Development Authority and Chittagong City Corporation over control of plum transport-development projects prolongs agonies of people, and risks loom large ahead of next monsoon.
The residents of Chittagong suffer abjectly amid the city getting waterlogged perennially and road communications being cut off-the past ordeals being fresh in their mind.
Fears are in the air that the row between the two major development bodies on the port city of Chittagong would further worsen people's suffering as the project to save the city-dwellers from recurrent flooding is being delayed when yet another rainyseason looms on the horizons.
As CDA's water-logging-mitigation project worth over Tk 56 billion has been approved by the ECNEC, the city corporation is in a fix as it has launched eviction drive against the illegal occupants on the banks of the city canals and removal of wastes and silt from canal-beds.
The mayor of Chittagong has written to the Local Government Ministry in Dhaka for directives on the works under the water-logging-combat project and sent another letter to the CDA chairman on the same.
The apparent tug-of-war between the CDA and the CCC has culminated in the effect that the CDA has now decided not to hand over the roads and flyovers constructed by it to the CCC in what appears to be contravention of the Chittagong City Corporation Act.
Sources in Chittagong City Corporation said the Local Government Ministry constituted a taskforce on August 28, 2017 with the City Mayor as its head to conduct eviction drives against illegal occupants on banks of the natural canals in the city and monitor it regularly.
The taskforce held its first meeting on 11 September 2017 and second on 16 February 2018. Representatives of the Chittagong Development Authority, Chittagong WASA, Water Development Board office in Chittagong, Chittagong Metropolitan Police and other related organizations are members of the taskforce.
The eviction drive to clean up the banks of the city canals was launched on August 8, 2017 with 35 illegal structures on the banks of the Mohesh Khal being demolished.
The following day, the Canal Re-excavation, Expansion, Renovation and Development of Chittagong City Water Logging Mitigation Project worth Tk 56 billion was approved in the ECNEC meeting. The major project was submitted by the CDA.
Under this project, the CDA is supposed to re-excavate 36 canals. As the re-excavation of canals is included in the CDA project, the CCC has suspended its eviction drive against illegal occupants but launched a drive for waste and silt removal from canal-bed on January 7.
Abdus Salam, Chairman of the CDA, had said earlier its Water Logging Mitigation Project works would start by the end of
February, which put the CCC in doubt if it will continue silt and
waste removal and eviction drive. And, eventually, City Mayor AJM Nasir Uddin wrote to the LGRD Ministry and the CDA.
Signed by Chief Executive Officer of the City Corporation Md Shamsuddoha, the latter reads: a 12-member Task Force was commissioned by the LGRD Ministry for canal digging, eviction of illegal occupants, waste
removal etc for which the government has also allocated a fund.
On the other hand, the government has approved the CDA project of Tk 56.16 billion which includes some works similar to those of the City Corporation. The project was scheduled to start in July 2017 and complete by June 2020.
"So we need to have a clear guideline in this respect," the CEO of the city corporation said.
Meanwhile, the CDA has decided now not to hand over any of its constructed roads and flyovers to the City Corporation for post-construction operation and maintenance activities, which goes against the Chittagong City Corporation Act.
Instead of handover of the Akhtaruzzaman Flyover to the CCC for the post-construction maintenance, the CDA has undertaken the Beautification Over and Under the Flyover Project which was formally inaugurated Friday (Feb 23) through an event in front of Chittagong WASA (Water and Sewerage Authority)
Addressing the inaugural function as chief guest Housing and Public Works
Minister Engineer Mosharraf Hossain came hard on the City Mayor,
AJM Nasir Uddin, alleging that he is obstructing each and every work of the Public Works Department.
"Whenever a mayor gets into the City Corporation, he thinks he is the government. Their main task is to remove wastes from the city. But they absolutely forget their duty and go on doing things according to their whims.
"When the Public Works department undertakes any noble scheme for the welfare of the common people, the City Corporation is always there to obstruct it," he said, adding that the roads and lanes in the city nowadays are very nasty unlike in the past.
As per the Chittagong City Corporation Act the Chittagong Development Authority needs to hand over the newly constructed roads and flyovers to the City Corporation. As development organization the CDA takes up projects, implements construction, widening and repairing of the city roads and flyovers and hands over the same to the City Corporation for
maintenance.
The Chairman of the Chittagong Development Authority, Abdus Salam, said the CDA will not hand over its roads and highways to the CCC and rather go on maintaining them.
He mentioned that a meeting held on November 12 last year decided that the CDA-constructed roads, flyovers and elevated expressway will not be handed over to the CCC from now on.
Presided over by the Housing and Public Works Minister, Engineer Mosharraf Hossain, the meeting was also attended by representatives of the Local Government.
Asked about the CDA Ordinance regarding handover of the CDA road-
development projects, he noted that the CDA Ordinance says the roads, after construction, would be handed over to the CCC for repair and maintenance. But nothing has been said in the CDA Ordinance in Clause 2(4) about repair and maintenance of the flyovers and elevated expressway.
Executive Engineer (Project) of the CDA Mahfuzur Rahman said the CDA had constructed the Bahaddarhat Flyover, Kadamtoli Flyover and Dewanhat Overpass and recently the Akhataruzzaman Flyover but none of these projects has been handed over to the CCC.
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