HC orders halt to hill cutting for Rangamati technology university building

The High Court has ordered immediate measures to stop hill cutting for the construction of a technology university building in Rangamati, as well as a ban on cutting any other hills in the district.

The directive came on Wednesday, December 3, following a hearing of a writ petition filed by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh based on a media report.

After the hearing, the bench of Justice Shikdar Mahmudur Razi and Justice Raziuddin Ahmed issued a rule asking why the administration’s inaction over preventing hill cutting in Rangamati should not be declared illegal, and why steps should not be taken to restore the already damaged hills by refilling the excavated areas. The authorities have been asked to submit their explanation within four weeks.

In an interim order, the court instructed the Chattogram office of the Department of Environment, the deputy commissioner, superintendent of police, upazila nirbahi officer and officer-in-charge of Rangamati Sadar to form a monitoring team to stop the cutting. The team has been directed to submit a report to the court within three months.

During the hearing, Advocate Manzil Morshed, counsel for Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh, said section 6 of the environmental law prohibits hill cutting, while section 15 outlines punitive actions. He argued that the university authorities were damaging the environment by cutting hills without clearance, and that no action was being taken despite the administration being aware of the work.