Nothing seems to deter it

The Chattogram Development Authority has continued cutting hills in Sitakunda's Jongol Salimpur area despite being fined Tk 10 crore for unregulated hill cutting just over a month ago by the Department of Environment, which also barred the CDA from harming the environment further.

Evidence of fresh hill cutting by CDA, a government body under the housing and public works ministry, was found just behind the base camp station at Salimpur.

DoE Chattogram Director (region) Mohammad Moazzom Hossain told The Daily Star that the CDA was yet to pay the fine as they had appealed to the appeal board. The disposal of the appeal may take two months.

DoE had levied the fine on CDA on January 30 for violating their own hill cutting management plan for the construction of a link road that would connect the port city's Baizid area to the Dhaka-Chattogram highway at Salimpur.

According to the management plan, CDA needed to remove 2,50,000 cubic feet of mud from 18 hills along the link road project. But CDA had cut 10,00,000 cubic feet of mud. Also according to the plan, they were supposed to cut hills at a 26-degree angle, but the CDA cut hills at a 90-degree angle, a DoE team found in January.

Forest, Environment and Climate Change Minister Md Shahabuddin, along with Director General of DoE Rafique Ahmed, visited the project area in January and instructed the DoE to take stern action against hill cutting.

CDA had cut at least 18 hills at a 90-degree angle during the construction of the six-kilometre link road, exposing the whole area to risk of landslides, the director general told The Daily Star after their visit in January.

They could have easily spared the hills and taken alternative measures, he added.

"We have not done anything outside the plan. If anything was done outside it, the DoE should investigate and find out who did it," A CDC official told The Daily Star.

Zamir Uddin, deputy director of DoE Chattogram (region), who inspected the hill cutting, told The Daily Star that they visited the project area on March 1 and found that CDA cut the hills afresh just behind their base camp at Salimpur.

They had cut afresh at least 40,000 cubic feet of hill and filled up the low land, he added.

DoE Chattogram Director Moazzom told The Daily Star that he asked his team to produce the investigation report soon.

"We will take stern action as per law," he added.

CDA was also fined Tk 10 lakh in 2017 for not complying with the hill cutting management plan.

Rajib Das, project director and also executive engineer of CDA, did not comment on the matter when this correspondent contacted him over phone.