The hills and hillocks in Raozan upazila of Chattogram are being razed indiscriminately. A rampant hill cutting is going on in various places of ward no. 9 in Raozan municipality area.
The hill cutting can be seen everywhere in that area.
The soil of the hills is being removed using excavator (Bheku) machines during the night without obtaining permission from the Department of Environment or the local administration. Hundreds of trucks of soil are being sold. These soils are being taken to brick kilns and to fill the agricultural lands. The hill cutting starts from the evening. A syndicate is cutting hills on various pretexts without any official clearance from the Department of Environment or the administration.
When this correspondent visited the area, it was seen that, the hill-cutting syndicate have razed the hills and mound areas in Melua, Ailikheel, Wahidkheel, Rubber, Purba Raozan, Amtol, and Rashidarpara areas under ward no. 9 in Raozan municipality.
Seeking anonymity, some locals said illegal hill cutting is taking place in this area. The hills are cut with excavators (Bheku machine) from 8:00pm to early morning. At the same time, the soil is supplied and sold with hundreds of dump trucks.
According to Section 6(b) of the Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act, 1995, no individual or organization can cut or raze hills or hillocks that are owned or occupied by government, semi-government or autonomous institutions or owned privately. However, in cases of essential national interest, hills or hillocks may be cut with clearance from the Department of Environment.
However, an influential group is cutting the hills illegally and destroying the nature.
Assistant Commissioner (Land) of Raozan upazila Md Ridowanul Islam said the administration did not give permission to anyone for hill cutting. If anyone cuts hill, legal actions will be taken against him.
