Home ›› 01 Mar 2023 ›› Nation
Illegal hill cutting is going on unabated in Sylhet amidst the ban by the Department of Environment (DoE).
DoE conducts occasional raids, however, the actions continue as usual after a few days every time. Many areas of the district have been flattened out where once hillocks stood tall.
According to local sources, earth traders backed by a section of local influential people are involved in the illegal acts. Hill cutting has become more prominent in recent days, as it goes on despite the season.
Arbitrary hill cutting is putting the environment and the biodiversity of the district at risk. Sylhet is falling victim to man-made natural disasters more often.
Landslides and severe flash floods take the lives of many every year in late monsoons.
Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) sources said, according to the information prepared in the light of the land survey of 1956, there were 1,025 hillocks in Sylhet district, of which 199 are located in Sylhet city and its surrounding areas.
But half of these hillocks have already been cut while the remaining are also facing a similar fate. No recent information about how many hillocks are left in the district was found.
On the other hand, recently the land area of Sylhet City Corporation (SCC) has been increased from 26.50 square kilometres to 58 square kilometres by including several areas of neighbouring Sylhet Sadar and Dakshin
Surma upazilas.
Due to rapid urbanisation, multi-storied buildings are being built in the expanding areas. To fill in the lands for construction purposes and as materials for the brick kilns, hill cutting has become more progressive.
BELA Sylhet Coordinator Shah Shaheda Akhter said, “According to the Bangladesh Environmental Protection Act 1995 (Amended 2010), no type of hills or hillocks can be cut for any individual or institutional need without special permission from the DoE.”
Akhter further said that BELA filed a writ in the High Court in November 2011 due to the increase in hill cutting in Sylhet in view of this law.
In 2012, the high court issued a ban on all types of hill cutting in Sylhet in the judgment of that writ. That ban is still in effect. However, hill cutting is still ongoing ignoring the ban.
In many areas of the city including Baluchar, Malaitila, Brahmanshasan, Haolderpara, Khadimpara, Majortila, Duski, Tilargaon, Khadimnagar, Khadimpara, Guabari, Jahangirnagar, Muktijoddha Tila in Akhalia Baragul area, Nalia, Sahebazar hill cutting is going on in broad daylight or during the dark of the night.
Abdul Hai Al Hadi, chief coordinator of the environmentalist organisation Save The Heritage and Environment, said about half the hillocks in Sylhet city have already been cut, putting the region at a higher risk of natural
disasters.
“We are bringing on a calamity by our own imprudence. Landslides have become a more common occurrence nowadays. Many lives were lost within the span of a month in many areas already,” he said.
He further added that due to the expansion of the city corporation area, the demand for property has also increased. This has led to hill cutting increasing further.
Abdul Hai went on to say, “The administration should take immediate action in this regard. Otherwise, the area will become more dangerous during the next monsoon.”
Shoaib Hasan, the organiser of the environmental rights organisation Bhumi Sontan Bangladesh, DoE’s activities in putting a stop to these illegal acts are lacklustre.
“The DoE only conducts drives after the hillocks have already been cut. The masterminds behind the illegal acts always get away with it while only a few labourers get small sentences,” Shoaib said, adding that enforcement of the law needs to be stepped up, or else there will be dire consequences.
Md Emran Hossain, director of the Sylhet divisional office of the DoE, said, "To completely stop hill cutting, a coordinated initiative of all government departments is required. It is difficult to stop the ongoing hill cutting of such a vast area with limited manpower.”
He added that the department is trying its best and conducting regular drives.
“Several people were sentenced to various terms of imprisonment for illegal hill cutting recently through a mobile court recently. However, mass awareness is needed if we want to stop the acts completely,” Emran said.
