Project of Ctg Development Authority: Contractor illegally razes 92,700sqft hill

Spectra Engineering Limited, contractor of a road construction project between the port city’s Bayezid area and Dhaka-Chattogram highway razed hills on 92,700 square feet of land in the last few years.

But the firm has faced almost no action for harming the environment in Chattogram’s Salimpur area.

Officials said the firm dumped truckloads of earth it had cut from the hills to the Foy’s Lake, a major tourist attraction.

Spectra won the contract from Chattogram Development Authority (CDA) in 2012 to build the 6km-long road. The hill-cutting was aimed at grabbing the land, environment department officials said.

Environment Minister Shahab Uddin visited the area on February 06 following reports in the media and asked the Department of Environment (DoE) to take action against the company.

The DoE later fined CDA Tk 10 crore for cutting the hills without following the original plan.

The company also built a wall around the land, DoE officials said.

DoE Director (Chattogram) Mohammad Moazzom Hossain told The Daily Star that an inspection by his department last month found that the hills had been destroyed.

“They built a 15-feet high wall so that no one could tell what they were doing. They razed the hills although it was not necessary for the project,” he said.

 “We have issued a notice to the engineering firm to appear at a hearing. We will take action as per the law”, he added.

CDA Executive Engineer Rajib Dad, who is directing the road-construction project, told The Daily Star that the razing of the hills had nothing to do with the project.

Contacted, Spectra’s Project Manager Robiul Haque said no hill was cut without following the project map.

He also claimed that there was no hill in the area and said the allegations were false.