Hill Voice, 1 May 2024, Special Reporter: The 9th meeting of Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Accord Implementation and Monitoring Committee was held at Jatiya Sangsad Bhavan. On April 30, 2024, from 11:00 am to 1:15 pm, chaired by the convener of the committee, Abul Hasnat Abdullah MP, the members of the committee, Jyotirindra Bodhipriya Larma, president of the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS), and Sudatta Chakma, the chairman of the Task Force on Rehabilitation of India-returnee Tribal Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons, were present.
State Minister of CHT Affairs Ministry Kujendra Lal Tripura and member of CHT Regional Council Goutam Kumar Chakma were also present in the meeting. Apart from this, Secretary of Ministry of Lands Md. Khalilur Rahman and Additional Secretary of Ministry of CHT Affairs Pradip Kumar Mahottam, Joint Secretary and Deputy Secretary and other officials were present in the meeting.
In the meeting, the progress of the decisions taken in the previous 8th meeting was reviewed. In the meeting, among others, the formulation of the Rules of the CHT Land Dispute Resolution Commission and the transfer of land and land management issues to the three Hill District Councils through executive orders, the formation of committees related to the transfer of subjects/functions to the Hill District Councils, the cancellation of the decision to deploy APBN at the site of the withdrawn army camp, statement regarding the implementation of the CHT Accord delivered at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, activities of KNF in Bandarban, allocation of vehicles and manpower of the task force etc. were discussed.
When asked about the formulation of the Rules of the Land Commission, the secretary of the land ministry, Md. Khalilur Rahman, said that formulation of the Rules of the Land Commission will be completed soon. Meanwhile, the president of PCJSS also put up the transfer of the subject of ‘land and land management’ to the three Hill District Councils through the executive order. The Land Secretary said that the land and land management will also be transferred to the three Hill District Councils as soon as possible.
In the 8th meeting of the Accord Implementation and Monitoring Committee, it was decided to form a committee with the convener of president of PCJSS to deal the transfer of subjects and departments to the three Hill District Councils and to find out ways about it. But the Ministry of CHT Affairs took the initiative to form the committee with the secretary of the ministry as the head instead of forming that committee. After canceling the said committee, in the 8th meeting of the Accord Implementation and Monitoring Committee, the committee was reconstituted with the convener of the State Minister of CHT Ministry and with the CHT Regional Council Chairman, three Hill District Council chairmen and Regional Council member Gautam Kumar Chakma as members.
In the meeting, a decision was taken to create the required manpower in the office of the CHT Accord Implementation Committee, to appoint permanent residents of the hill region to the vacant posts of the CHT Regional Council, to speed up the work of creating the necessary vehicles and manpower for the Task Force. A decision was taken to inform the Ministry of Home Affairs to ensure that no innocent person is harassed during the operation to arrest the Kuki-chin terrorists.
It should be noted that the 8th meeting of CHT Accord Implementation Committee was held on 20 August 2023 at Jatiya Sangsad Bhavan. The 9th meeting of the committee was held after 8 months of the said meeting.
