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Stop hill cutting, settlement in foothills to avoid disaster

Experts tell govt in their report

Abdullah Al Mahmud
The technical and expert committee in its report has suggested introduction of a separate and complete rule for preservation and development of hills in Chittagong to avert casualties and damages of properties during landslides.
The committee sent the report to cabinet division on April 21 suggesting measures to stop hill cutting and not to allow housing in foothills, said Additional Deputy Commissioner (Revenue) Md Zafar Alam, also member secretary of the committee.
The 11-member committee
headed by divisional commissioner of Chittagong also recommended formation of strong vigilance teams comprising experts and representatives from government, nongovernment organisations and civil society. It also underscored the need for creating mass awareness to check new settlements in the vulnerable foothill areas.
To discourage settlements in such areas it suggested to allow 30 percent of the land recovered through illegal levelling of hills for raising buildings having maximum three storeys and no structure on hills with slopes measuring 30 degree or more.
said the sources in the committee.
The report also recommended that the people from vulnerable areas be evacuated in phases and rehabilitated keeping their employments in mind.
The cabinet division formed the expert and technical committee on August 26 last year seeking recommendations to aven landslides that cause huge casualties and damages to properties in the hilly areas every year.
The technical committee was formed after a 14-member probe committee submitted report on the rain-induced landslide that claimed 127 lives
in the port city and its suburbs on June 11 last year.
Over 70 other people were also killed in landslides here since 1998.
Around 12 percent of the country's landscape is hilly while most of them are situated in Chittagong. Chittagong Hill Tracts and Sylhet, said the sources.
The report said seven of the 12 planning zones under CDA master plan have more or less hills. The hills are divided into four categories untouched hills of HO category, slightly changed hills of Hl category, hills of H2 category that witnessed massive levelling and seriously damaged
hills of H3 categories where brick kilns were set up.
In line with the Detailed Area Plan of CDA master plan the technical committee emphasised on preserving the hills of HO and Hl categories, allowing low density residential area on the levelled portion of H2 category hills and closing down the brick kilns at the H3 category hills to bring the damaged areas under immediate plantation programme.
It suggested developing buffer zone of 100m wide plantation along the bottom of hills to separate the hilly areas.
To stop illegal growth of brick kilns the report suggested that no brick kilns should be allowed inside the city area, amid the hills or within 500 meters of the bottoms of hills. The ditches created by the existing brick kilns should be turned into water reservoirs or forestland in a planned way.
The committee suggested identifying areas for brick kilns activities outside the city and legal measures against those who have already caused massive destruction of landscape with brick kilns.
For proper and safe management of hills the committee recommended for coordinated land-use plan and watershed management through development, renovation and preservation of canals and springs.
It suggested development of drainage system as per the master plan, developing water reservoirs in the foothills and slip-traps at regular intervals at the bottom of hills.
It also suggested giving rights to every citizen to lodge case against hill cutting.
The report has given guidelines and suggestions for introducing short-term, mid-term and long-term plans to be implemented in the current year, two years and three years respectively.