Hill cutting continues unabated

Unscrupulous people reportedly in collusion with local influential political leaders and a section of dishonest officials are devouring the huge hill, after Chittagong City Corporation levelled a portion of it for developing a housing project, VIP Residential Area. PHOTO: Zobaer Hossain Sikder

CCC has been implementing the housing project - VIP Residential Area- on some seven acres of land dotted with hillocks at southern Khulshi area in the southern fringe of the city.

Several hills have already been levelled for implementation of the project that began around two years back.

As the development work goes on, some vested quarters are also trying to devour an adjoining huge hill there, reportedly using the bulldozers of city corporation at night amid darkness, an allegation that CCC denies.

A vested quarter including, an Awami League backed commissioner and a local Jatiya Sechchhasebak Dal leader, purchased the hill spreading over some 55 gandas of land two months back, sources said. They are allegedly using the CCC bulldozer to level the hill that started immediately after the purchase, sources added.

Local people said that CCC use bulldozers to level the hillocks between 2.00am and 4.00am and the private developers between 4.00am and 6.00am.

One Mohammad Idris was engaged in looking after the levelling, they said.

However, CCC Chief Engineer Mokhterul Alam denied the allegation of using CCC bulldozers in hill cutting by the private developers. He said that the bulldozers were being used for the development of the CCC housing project there. One can hire CCC bulldozers with approval of the authorities concerned, he said. But, no application seeking such approval came to us, he added.

Meanwhile, a top official of the Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) said that the CCC was developing the housing project without any permission from CDA levelling the hilly land.

Moreover, the CCC is not supposed to go for such a housing project as the CDA under the Ministry of Housing and Public Works has sufficient trained manpower having managerial skills to do such job, he said. "It was the responsibility of Housing and Public Works Ministry to cater the need of housing," he added.

Besides, CCC has no sufficient manpower for such a project that will raise both the implementation cost and the price of plots being developed there, he said.

CCC Executive Engineer Abu Saleh said that CCC planned to develop some 80 residential plots on VIP Residential Area. Each 3.5 kantha plot will cost Tk 30 lakh, he said.

Meanwhile, CDA also initiated an urban village project, Nilima, on some 217 acres of land near CCC's VIP Residentail Area. The Nilima project to be implemented at a cost of Tk 240 crore from CDA's own fund will have 1200 residential plots. Each five-katha plot will be allotted at Tk 3.25 lakh per kantha - around one third of what CCC plot will cost.

The CCC is implementing its project on seven out of 24 acres of land at South Khulshi following disputes regarding some portions, sources said.

CCC does not need any permission from CDA for developing the housing project or to level the hills.

CCC State Officer Ahmedul Haq said they needed CDA's permission for cutting hills. "But there is no hill at the project site," he said.

There were some hills that were cut down back in early nineties by the landowner from whom CCC purchased the land for the project, Haq said.

"At present we are just levelling some 35 residential plots that have already been prepared," he added.