Rangamati, Sept 30 (V7N) – The Department of Environment has filed an enforcement case over allegations that a hill was cut without approval to build an access road in the Manikchhari area of Rangamati Sadar upazila.
The Rangamati district office of the Department of Environment confirmed that the case was filed on Monday, Sept 28, 2026, after an on-site inspection found evidence of hill cutting.
According to the department, officials inspected a hilly area in Manikchhari following a tip-off and found signs of unauthorized hill cutting. Based on the inspection report, an enforcement case was filed and sent to the Department of Environment’s Chattogram regional office.
The investigation report said the inspection followed complaints from local residents. Officials found that part of a hill, estimated to be 50 to 60 feet high, had been cut without approval to create a road.
The cut section was approximately 50 feet long, five feet wide and two feet high. The report estimated that around 500 cubic feet of soil had been removed from the hill.
The report identified Abu Bakkar Siddique, 50, a resident of the Manikchhari area, as the alleged person responsible.
According to the inspection report, no approval or environmental clearance had been obtained from the Department of Environment for the hill cutting. The department therefore found preliminary evidence of a violation of relevant provisions of the Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act, 1995 (amended in 2010).
Mohammad Muminul Islam, assistant director of the Rangamati district office of the Department of Environment, confirmed the filing of the enforcement case.
He said officials conducted an on-site investigation on Monday afternoon after receiving the complaint and found evidence of hill cutting in the Manikchhari area. Following the inspection report, the enforcement case was filed on Sept 28.
A hearing in the case is expected to be held within the next few weeks, he said.
The investigation report recommended determining and recovering compensation under Section 7 of the Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act, 1995 (amended in 2010), based on the estimated 500 cubic feet of hill cutting. It also recommended taking necessary corrective measures and said the authorities could take further action in accordance with the law.
Meanwhile, Abu Bakkar Siddique said he was unaware of the case.
Speaking by phone, he said the road had been built more than two months ago to facilitate access to a residential house and that he had no knowledge of the enforcement case.
END/AMR/SMA/
