Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has emphasised on maintaining peace in the hills and urged all to extend cooperation to the Land Commission to solve the land dispute in the Chattogram Hill Tracts (CHT).
“We want no more unrest and conflict in CHT … we want the people of the region to stay well, we want peace to be maintained there,” she said while inaugurating ‘Sheikh Hasina Chattogram Hill Tracts Complex’ on Bailey Road in the capital on Sunday (Oct 28) afternoon, news agency BSS reports.
Sheikh Hasina said the country including the CHT region will achieve prosperity through peace, while progress will come following peace.
“And we’ll build a hunger and poverty-free Sonar Bangla as dreamt by Bangabandhu through this progress and prosperity Insha Allah,” she added.
The prime minister said her government has done everything necessary for implementing the CHT Peace Accord and formed the Land Commission to solve land dispute in the region.
But, she said, there is a problem in giving compensation to the hill people during acquisition of their land. “They don’t get compensation as per the rule that is followed to provide compensation for the people of other parts of the country,” she said, adding the reason is that a problem regarding ownership exists there.
In this connection, the prime minister preferred to follow the country’s own law instead of the British law. “If the hill people get their land ownership in their own name according to the law of our country, the problems like the hill people’s deprivation of compensation will be over,” she said.
Sheikh Hasina urged all to extend cooperation to the Land Commission so it can quickly solve the land dispute in the CHT region by working properly. The commission faces obstacles while going to work, she added.
The prime minister said the days are changing and the world is moving fast and is being enriched with modern technology and science. “So we want everybody to live with the ownership of their land and their development will be made in this way,” she said.
Housing and Public Works Minister Engineer Mosharraf Hossain, Convenor of the CHT Peace Accord Implementation Committee Abul Hasanat Abdullah, Chairman of CHT Regional Council Jyotirindra Bodhipriya Larma, popularly known as Santu Larma, and Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing
Committee on the Ministry of CHT Affairs RAM Ubaidul Muktadir Chowdhury were present as the special guests.
State Minister for CHT Affairs Ministry Bir Bahadur Ushwe Sing presided over the function, while Secretary of the ministry Nurul Amin delivered the welcome address.
A documentary on long-lasting peace and development initiatives of Bangabandhu and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the CHT was screened at the function.
Ministers, PM’s advisers, parliament affairs, diplomats, representatives of development partners and international organisations were also present.