CHITTAGONG, May 12: The CDA (Chittagong Development Authority) has cancelled its tender invitation notice to develop DC Hill Park in the city facing stiff opposition from the local administration.
Project Director of the DC Hill Park Development Project Engineer Mahfuzur Rahman said the project has been cancelled and the tender for quotations published in the newspaper is no more valid.
The CDA has taken the decision not to go ahead with the project following instructions from the higher authorities in Dhaka as the move has been strongly opposed by the Deputy Commissioner of Chittagong Mesbah Uddin, he said.
The deputy commissioner has said he is happy as the misunderstanding between the CDA and district administration arising out of the project will no more remain. "Rather we will take steps to develop the DC Hill Park and if required, we shall take cooperation from the CDA in this regard," he said.
The DC Hill is a large hilly area surrounding Nandankanan and Jamal Khan in the heart of the city and is used as a cultural centre called Nazrul Square at the foot and bungalows of the Divisional Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner of Chittagong on the top.
Earlier on Sunday afternoon, senior officials of Bangladesh Administration Services Association Chittagong district in its regular meeting termed the CDA project illegal as the CDA did not care to take permission from the DC for taking up a project on the land owned by the DC of Chittagong.
In the meeting, they expressed determination to go on opposing the project. DC Mesbah Uddin said the hill is under Khas Khatian No.1 of the government. Hence taking any project centring the hill must be in the knowledge of the local administration which is being represented by the DC of Chittagong.
"But they took the project keeping us in the dark which is illegal," he said adding that the CDA had not only prepared the project but also issued tender notice in the newspaper inviting quotation for the project. The DC served a legal notice on the CDA on May 6 and threatened to sue the CDA if it further proceeds with the project.
On March 5, Housing and Public Works Minister Engineer Mosharraf Hossain visited the DC Hill Park and instructed the CDA to undertake a development project for the DC Hill so that the place with serene beauty becomes a public resort for the city dwellers. Accordingly, the CDA had prepared a project profile at an estimated cost of Tk 66.50 million and sent the proposal to Dhaka for approval.
CDA sources said that the minister had discussed the issue with the higher authorities in the government but he failed to gain positive response from the PMO (Prime Minister's Office). The PMO suggested the authorities concerned to find out any other important place for development of the park for city dwellers.
