Authorities have summoned an accused over alleged hill cutting on Bangladesh Bank land in Chattogram after inspectors found initial evidence, raising concerns over long-standing encroachment and weak monitoring.
The Department of Environment has issued a summons over the alleged grabbing and cutting of a nearly 10.64-acre hill owned by Bangladesh Bank in Chattogram after complaints from local environmental activists and an official inspection found initial evidence of damage.
The accused has been ordered to appear at a hearing next Tuesday after the Department of Environment launched action over the hill in East Nasirabad mouza under Pahartali police station area, officials and activists said.
Local residents said the hill, located at the end of Road No. 10 in the O R Nizam residential area, has long faced the threat of encroachment and cutting. The land includes the full area under RS plot 2670/72 and part of plot 2956, they said.
According to locals, a portion of the hill had already been occupied by a man identified as Sohel, who built a semi-pucca structure there earlier. Environmental activists said they alerted the Department of Environment after fresh hill-cutting activities recently came to their notice.
Following a complaint lodged through environmental activist Md Imtiaz Ahmed, the Chattogram metropolitan office of the Department of Environment sent an inspection team to the site. Acting on the instructions of Assistant Director Md Muktadir Hasan, inspectors Ontor Saha and Rumpa Shikdar visited the area and found evidence that hill cutting had taken place, according to those concerned.
Officials alleged that when they tried to serve a notice on the accused during the inspection, he refused to accept it and behaved discourteously with Department of Environment personnel. A summons was later issued through the police station directing him to appear at the department office next Tuesday.
Assistant Director Md Muktadir Hasan said the allegation of hill cutting was found to be prima facie true during the site visit, although the classification of the land has not yet been determined.
He said the accused must appear at the hearing with the necessary documents and warned that if the allegation is proved through investigation, legal action would follow, including fines and a case.
Environmental activists said the state-owned hill has remained vulnerable for years because there is no boundary wall or effective monitoring, creating opportunities for encroachment and cutting.
Local environmental campaigners and concerned residents called on Bangladesh Bank to take immediate and effective steps to protect the hill and ensure permanent security measures.
Md Imtiaz Ahmed, Chattogram divisional coordinator of Save the Environment Movement, said that if a property belonging to an institution like Bangladesh Bank remains unmanaged in this way, it risks being completely lost very quickly.
He warned that unless effective action is taken now, the situation could soon spiral beyond control.
