DoE files four cases against 39 for illegal hill cutting in Chattogram

The Department of Environment (DoE) in Chattogram has filed four cases against 39 individuals for their involvement in illegally cutting four hills in the Akbarshah area under Sitakunda upazila. 

Four cases were filed with the Akbarshah police station on Tuesday (18 September), following investigations led by the DoE's Research Officer Mohammad Ashraf Uddin.

Ashraf Uddin confirmed the cases to The Business Standard, explaining that a DoE team inspected the area from Saturday to Monday after receiving reports of illegal hill cutting. 

During the inspection, incidents of environmental degradation were discovered on Mir Awliya Mazar Road in Jungle Latifpur Mouza, added DoE.

The case documents reveal that the illegal hill cutting, led by a syndicate involving Mohammad Jamal Uddin, 40, and Mohammad Akter, 50, along with several others, resulted in severe environmental damage. They razed large sections of hills and constructed buildings on the land.

In the first case, nine individuals, including Amzad Hosen, Jamal Uddin, and Akter, are accused of leveling a 3,400-square-foot hill to build a structure. 

The second case involves 11 people who razed a 40-foot-high hill and removed 8,000 cubic feet of earth. 

In the third incident, 10 individuals were found guilty of removing 2,000 cubic feet of earth from another hill, while the fourth case documents the destruction of a 30-foot-high hill with 4,500 cubic feet of earth removed.

The DoE has vowed to continue its crackdown on illegal hill cutting, as these activities not only harm the environment but also destabilise the region's ecosystem.

Ashraf Uddin said, "We will bring all those responsible to justice and prevent further destruction of our hills."