The High Court (HC) issued an order last week asking the government to stop cutting and destroying hills at Jhilonza Mouza in Cox's Bazar with immediate effect. Upon a petition filed by the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers' Association (BELA), the HC ordered the administration to take legal actions against the persons responsible for damaging the hills. The two-member HC bench also asked the authorities concerned to report about compliance with the order within two months.
Furthermore, the HC issued a rule, as appeared in a contemporary, asking the government to explain within three weeks as to why inaction on its part to prevent cutting and damaging hills should not be declared illegal as well as the area ecologically critical.
BELA stated that the Department of Environment (DoE) had fined a private cooperative housing society Taka 28.6 million for cutting the hills illegally on an area of 87.10 acres of land in 2011.
In fact, cutting of hills in three Chittagong hill districts and in the port city has been continuing unabated over the years. In some cases the district administration itself is engaged in levelling hills under its jurisdiction.
Another picture appeared recently in the same daily, showing how a hill at Rangapani at Rangamati town is being levelled at the behest of the district administration. The earth from the hill is being used to fill up a pond in Narkelbagan in the town to set up a government college there. The site for the college was selected earlier and the foundation stone was laid by the state minister for CHT affairs on May 11 last.
The director of DoE, Chittagong told reporters that no permission for cutting the hill and filling up the pond was taken from the DoE. The director said this is a gross violation of environmental law.
As we reported earlier in this column, systematic destruction of hills in Chittagong continues unabated causing serious environmental hazards. This has been going on for creating human settlements at the foot or slopes of the hills or for other purposes. Though it takes heavy toll in terms of human lives, livestock and property almost every year following landslides, there is no respite from hill cutting.
Green activists have been demanding formulation of a national hill management policy for quite a long time. They also urged the authorities concerned to take drastic action against those engaged in cutting hills and trees illegally, resulting in deaths of settlers and serious environmental hazards.
The leaders blamed a politically influential quarter for chopping trees, developing lands for housing projects and constructing roads in an unplanned manner in the hilly areas. They alleged that the government appears to be indifferent to such illegal activities of a handful of powerful groups which have already caused enough damage to environment.
Besides, a large number of people perished following landslides in the recent past across the Chittagong hill areas.
Green activists say that reckless felling of trees results in developing cracks on the hills in summer due to excessive heat. Afterwards when the rain water enters the cracks, the soft hill soil becomes too vulnerable to slides. In the wake of a landslide, the local administration asks the people living in hill slopes to evacuate. But they are not permanently rehabilitated.
After the rainy season is over, people return to their previous settlements and start living until fresh slides subsequently claim lives and destroy properties. Therefore, it is essential to formulate national hill management policy to protect the hills from gross human interference and to avert further environmental degradation.
On June 26, 2012, rain-induced landslides left 114 people dead in Bandarban, Cox's Bazar and Chittagong which got wide media coverage. According to an unofficial estimate, the death toll would be much higher as many people remained buried under tonnes of mud.
Following the tragedy the authorities evacuated a large number of settlers from the hill slopes to safer places in relief camps. But many other dwellers refused to comply with the directives of the local administration and preferred to live under constant threat of landslides.
Under the prevailing circumstances it is essential to take stringent measures against illegal hill cutting under a comprehensive national policy. Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable countries of the world due to global climate change. We are not yet fully prepared to face the challenge. At this crucial moment if we fail to protect our environment from reckless human interference we shall only hasten the process of impending natural disaster.
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