Another ‘Jungle Salimpur’ in Chattogram

A narrow dirt road winds up the hillside. On both sides are small houses made of corrugated-iron sheets, bamboo and fencing. Some are built against the slopes, while others stand on land levelled by cutting into the hills. In some places, structures of new houses are going up; elsewhere, freshly cut soil can be seen. Tree trunks lie scattered at several spots.

This is the scene recently found in the Baraitali area of Ward No. 1 South Pahartali in Chattogram city. Although the area lies within the city limits, it can be reached by taking the road connecting Hathazari’s Boro Dighirpar to Bhatiari. Baraitali, surrounded by hills, is about a kilometre inside from No. 3 Bazar.

According to land office records, a total of 94.45 acres of land under BS Dag Nos. 3592, 3696, 3053 and 3540 in Jungle South Pahartali Mouza is government-owned land under Khas Khatian No. 1. Dag No. 3592 is classified as ‘Tila’ (hill), Dag No. 3053 as ‘Chhan Khola’ (open grassland), while the other two are classified as ‘Nal’ (low-lying land). However, much of these areas consists of hills, and settlements have developed at various places.

According to local residents, more than 300 families live in Baraitali alone. There are several hundred more houses on the surrounding hills. As there has been no comprehensive government survey, there is no accurate figure for the total number of families or the amount of land that has been occupied. However, settlements scattered across the hills can be seen in field observations and satellite images.

All 30 or so residents who spoke to Prothom Alo said they had paid between Tk 70,000 and Tk 300,000 to acquire small plots of land. None of them could show any valid ownership documents. Prothom Alo also obtained a written document showing the transfer of a plot with five semi-pucca houses for Tk 700,000.

Government documents also contain evidence of hill cutting. After inspecting 14 locations, the Department of Environment found evidence that 18,994 cubic feet, or about 538 cubic metres, of hill soil had been cut. These documents, however, do not cover the entire area.

The current situation in Jungle South Pahartali, including Baraitali, bears similarities to the early stages of the development of Jungle Salimpur in Sitakunda. In Jungle Salimpur too, hills were occupied and plots were created, transferred in exchange for money, and permanent settlements were later established. Over several decades, it grew into a huge settlement, making eviction difficult. Jungle South Pahartali has not yet reached that stage. However, the same trend of settlements on government land, cutting hills to create plots and transferring land can also be seen here.

Chattogram Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Zahidul Islam Miah said, “There will be no opportunity for another Jungle Salimpur to develop. An operation will be conducted there soon to evict those living there illegally.”

The settlement in Baraitali began about four decades ago. Mohammad Manik started living in the No. 3 Bazar area around 1986. According to him, there were only 10 to 15 houses there at the time. After the 1991 cyclone, displaced people from various coastal areas, including Sandwip and Hatiya, began settling there. The number of houses gradually increased.

Garment worker Abdur Rahim lives in a house on a hill. He acquired the plot three years ago for about Tk 70,000. Rahim said, “We did not cut the hill ourselves. Those who sold the plots cut the hills, created small plots and handed them over to us. They did not give us any documents.”

Prothom Alo also obtained a ‘deed of transfer’ executed on a Tk 50 stamp paper. According to the document, on December 11 last year, Monowara Begum transferred a plot with five semi-pucca houses to Md Saiful Islam and his wife Surma Akter for Tk 700,000. The land was described as ‘Tila’ (hill). However, this is not a registered ownership deed. The Department of Environment said Saiful was also fined for hill cutting at the site.

Although buyers said they had purchased the plots, most did not want to disclose the identities of the sellers. A Department of Environment report mentions the involvement of 14 people in hill cutting. Those among them who spoke to Prothom Alo are mostly low-income people—some are drivers, some garment workers, some painters and some day labourers.

Residents alleged that during the Awami League government, several people known to be followers of then-councillor Gazi Shafiul Azam used their influence to facilitate hill cutting and the construction of new houses. No written documents supporting the allegation were found. Gazi Shafiul Azam could not be reached for comment.

Mohammad Hossain has been named in a report by the Hathazari Upazila Land Office as being involved in hill cutting. Hossain, who identifies himself as a BNP activist, denied the allegation. He claimed that the allegation against him was “conspiratorial.”

Several local residents have alleged that Md Rubel currently has influence over hill cutting and the transfer of plots. Rubel, who identifies himself as a former assistant office secretary of the Hathazari upazila unit of Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal, denied the allegation. However, he admitted to mediating the sale and purchase of a plot in Baraitali.

Mohammad Farhad, a local resident living in Abu Dhabi, has accused Rubel of demanding Tk 1 million as extortion. He also submitted a written complaint to the Bangladesh embassy over the matter on July 27. Rubel denied this allegation as well.

Residents and relevant officials said they had found no record of any eviction drive in Baraitali over the past 10 years. Following allegations of hill cutting in June this year, the Hathazari Upazila Land Office inspected the area. Based on a letter from the land office, the Department of Environment found evidence of hill cutting at 14 locations on 28 July. On 4 August, 14 people were fined a total of Tk 165,000.

But even after the fines, houses remain on the cut hills, and the government-owned land has not been freed from occupation. Sonia Sultana, director of the Chattogram Metropolitan Office of the Department of Environment, said a letter would be sent to the Hill Management Committee to investigate how a group is leasing out or selling government-owned khas land, take legal action and recover the land for the government.

Asked about the matter, Mohammad Kamal Hossain, supernumerary professor at the Institute of Forestry and Environmental Sciences of Chittagong University, said creating settlements by initially using low-income and vulnerable people as a front and then gradually cutting and levelling hills behind those settlements is a familiar pattern of hill grabbing.

In his view, drawing on the experience of Jungle Salimpur, hill cutting and occupation in Jungle South Pahartali must be stopped immediately.