Only 15 hill-cutting cases filed in 5 yrs
Saturday, 16 June 2007
CHITTAGONG, June 15 (bdnews24.com): Only 15 cases were filed in the past five years over illegal hill-cutting and only two of them were heard in court, says the Directorate of Environment (DoE).
No cases were filed for destruction of hills in 2006, officials at the DoE said, adding stopping hill-cutting should be backed by specific laws.
At least 126 people have died after torrential rains induced landslides in the denuded hills cut to build homes.
After the latest interim government took office in January 2007, the environment ministry woke up to the needs to take legal steps against those breaching the anti-hill cutting law.
Nine cases were filed up to June 2007, the officials said.
After Chittagong Environ-ment Court came into being on March 16, 2002, 99 cases have been filed for breaches of different environment laws. Most of the cases were related to use of banned polythene, air pollution, and dewatering of ponds and water bodies.
Illegal destruction of hills has been taken to court only 15 times and the accused have got away unpunished as the charges were not pressed on strong legal grounds.
The court slapped a fine of only Tk 50,000 in two of the cases where verdicts were delivered.
A study by Shahidul Islam who teaches Geography at Chittagong University says in the last couple of years alone, numerous incidents of hill-cutting and land development in the hilly areas in the city were overlooked.
Authorities including the environment ministry, the police, Chittagong Develop-ment Authority and the office of the deputy commissioner did not question the illegal acts.
The DoE director claimed in most cases the hills were cut hoodwinking the authorities following absence of legal framework.
He also admitted inexperienced investigation officers submit inadequate reports leading to weak cases. Again, officers are transferred with their investigation unfinished.
He also said they face a formidable challenge to get witnesses to testify in court against the rich and powerful.
Chittagong divisional commissioner Mokhlesur Rahman declared Thursday in the presence of disaster management Adviser MA Matin the Chittagong DoE will soon be revamped and the offenders responsible for the disasters will be brought to justice.
Bangladesh Environment Lawyers' Association (BELA) official Shah Md Nurul Islam said hundreds of illegal hill-cutting incidents have remained overlooked.
Joint district judge Aminul Haque said there is no specific law against hill-cutting and they were trying cases citing only a relevant public notice issued in this connection about two decades ago.
Environment activist Mainuddin has been organising residents of Fateyabad and Chowdhuryhat in the city suburbs and rallying the cause of maintaining environmental and ecological integrity of the hills.
He said they had lodged a number of complaints but in vain.
Mainuddin said strong steps are needed now to effectively stop hill-cutting and thwart more loss of lives.
No cases were filed for destruction of hills in 2006, officials at the DoE said, adding stopping hill-cutting should be backed by specific laws.
At least 126 people have died after torrential rains induced landslides in the denuded hills cut to build homes.
After the latest interim government took office in January 2007, the environment ministry woke up to the needs to take legal steps against those breaching the anti-hill cutting law.
Nine cases were filed up to June 2007, the officials said.
After Chittagong Environ-ment Court came into being on March 16, 2002, 99 cases have been filed for breaches of different environment laws. Most of the cases were related to use of banned polythene, air pollution, and dewatering of ponds and water bodies.
Illegal destruction of hills has been taken to court only 15 times and the accused have got away unpunished as the charges were not pressed on strong legal grounds.
The court slapped a fine of only Tk 50,000 in two of the cases where verdicts were delivered.
A study by Shahidul Islam who teaches Geography at Chittagong University says in the last couple of years alone, numerous incidents of hill-cutting and land development in the hilly areas in the city were overlooked.
Authorities including the environment ministry, the police, Chittagong Develop-ment Authority and the office of the deputy commissioner did not question the illegal acts.
The DoE director claimed in most cases the hills were cut hoodwinking the authorities following absence of legal framework.
He also admitted inexperienced investigation officers submit inadequate reports leading to weak cases. Again, officers are transferred with their investigation unfinished.
He also said they face a formidable challenge to get witnesses to testify in court against the rich and powerful.
Chittagong divisional commissioner Mokhlesur Rahman declared Thursday in the presence of disaster management Adviser MA Matin the Chittagong DoE will soon be revamped and the offenders responsible for the disasters will be brought to justice.
Bangladesh Environment Lawyers' Association (BELA) official Shah Md Nurul Islam said hundreds of illegal hill-cutting incidents have remained overlooked.
Joint district judge Aminul Haque said there is no specific law against hill-cutting and they were trying cases citing only a relevant public notice issued in this connection about two decades ago.
Environment activist Mainuddin has been organising residents of Fateyabad and Chowdhuryhat in the city suburbs and rallying the cause of maintaining environmental and ecological integrity of the hills.
He said they had lodged a number of complaints but in vain.
Mainuddin said strong steps are needed now to effectively stop hill-cutting and thwart more loss of lives.