I chanced upon an article written by a blogger in the e-bangladesh
website. It is about the problem going on in the CHT and its possible
causes and repurcussions. I would like all the members of the forum
to please read the article and share your opinions on it.
Posted on 24 June 2008 by Incidental Blogger
CHT: Beyond Narratives
Several blog posts have been written in the recent months since the
Sajek incident in CHT (Chittagong Hill Tracts) followed by two well-
publicised fact finding reports. These reports also brought the
Kalpana Chakma campaign in the forefront, once again, reviving her
cause in the public domain. While activists are mobilising,
organising, speaking for justice, the establishment decided to strike
again. This week, five more activists including Alakesh Chakma and
Ani Bikash Chakma have been picked up by "plain clothes" security
personnel. No charges have been filed; no right to an attorney; no
one even knows where they have been taken. They simply disappeared.
[Update: according to one unverified report, they have been released
after three days of detention in an undisclosed location].
Going through the reports gave me a strange feeling. They reminded me
of similar arson attacks, similar disappearances - that have taken
place before. Nothing seem to have changed. Same opposing groups,
same patterns of prejudice, same abuses, same cover ups. Everything
is same except the year stamps. Twelve years ago it was Kalpana
Chakma's disappearance, this year it is Alakesh and Ani. Twelve years
ago, the arson attacks took place near New Lalyaghona (Kalpana's home
village); this year, it is in Sajek. Twelve years ago, in that
fateful month of madness prior to the national election, 38 people
disappeared from Baghaichari including Kalpana; this year the number
is rising with promises for more incidents like this in the coming
months. As if a video scene is being replayed by someone. Even the
official versions and the contrasting human rights narratives sound
like distant echoes. They remind us of the outrage, still alive in
our memory; they remind us of the sense of helplessness, still raw in
our soul. After the noise and roars silence creeps, and in the still
air I keep hearing the whisper: "impunity perpetuates
injustice, . . . impunity . . . "
The aim of this post, however, is not to highlight the similarities
or differences between past and present times; it is not going to be
a `then and now' post. There will, understandably, be better times
for walks in the memory lane. Today, I would rather try look at the
proverbial "big picture."
First, let me look at some of the common narratives. With a political
dilemma as complex and multifaceted as the CHT, one cannot help being
astonished by the surprising simple mindedness of the existing
narratives. In them, the nuances are often ignored, gray areas remain
unacknowledged. And with some exceptions — these narratives are
almost always grounded in deep rooted prejudices, biases and
insecurities - all our own. One narrative center on portrayals of
Bengali settlers (Bangalees) as violent, communal and inherently
criminal; the contrasting narrative portray the Paharis (the Chakma,
Marma, Mog, Tripura, Bom and other minority communities in CHT) as
exotic, peace-loving, violence averse people. One narrative depicts
the CHT cause as a conspiracy against Bangladesh with strings pulled
by a powerful neighbouring country; the other narrative adopts a
rigid normative position, focusing strictly on the human rights
aspects of the conflict with the Paharis portrayed as perpetual
victims. One narrative needs a demonised Military establishment
(stationed in the region which is constantly scheming) to justify the
abuse stories; the other narrative forged by the majority Bangalees
needs to show the Paharis as opportunistic, half-civilised and
untrustworthy. Both narratives need heroes and villains, ironically
on both sides. Undermining, dehumanising, and trivialising the other
side's version is the underlying theme of all these narratives,
million miles away from any meaningful solution to the mess that is
CHT. With narratives, the problem is - they are more than just words;
they generate support, create converts, influence actors, and even
raise armies. Slowly but surely, narratives can and have divided
nations - as history is our witness in this region called the sub-
Continent. These narratives are, for lack of a better expression, as
divisive and polarising as the eerie experience of walking through
the villages of Baghaichari and Sajek. Those who have walked those
roads in these suspect times would know what I am talking about.
Ideally, this piece could have been addressed to two classes of
people. One, the unapologetically offensive ones, the irredeemably
racist and habitually communal ones - who have been vocal and active
against the CHT-cause from the word go. The second group would
comprise of the "confused ones" whose naive observations often
include statements such as:
1. What is wrong with Bangalee settlement in CHT? It is their country
after all;
2. I hear the whole CHT insurgence is an Indian conspiracy. Our Army
needs to be there to protect our sovereignty and guard our borders;
3. The alleged atrocities cannot be true. Our army is a well
disciplined professional body who are simply not capable of behaving
in such manners. What if the Paharis are manipulating a portion of
our civil society and the media with their made-up sob stories?
Things really cannot be that bad!
I would not say it is futile but tonight I have neither the patience
nor the inclination to preach to the first group; perhaps, some other
time. I address today's post only to the second category of people
comprising of Bangalee individuals who had always been in two minds
on this divisive "not so simple" issue.
Their first and second questions involve matters of "nationality"
debates and historical records. A huge amount of writings on them are
already available so i better not go in that direction. I do not have
anything to add to that. The third question is a matter of
investigated and recorded facts. In the last two decades, dozens of
independent human rights fact finding missions have been carried out
in the region. The reports have been published, quoted in both
national and international media as well as archived in the
repositories. Anyone with genuine interest in human rights issues
related to CHT can avail them to make up their own minds.
To be honest, similar scepticisms are not so uncommon among the
modern day Pakistanis who find it hard to believe the atrocities
perpetrated by their patriotic army during the 1971 Liberation War.
So, my response to the CHT sceptics would be: "please believe me when
I say the atrocities are real, they are not made up." There was a
time when I used to be one of those sceptics myself, one of those
confused ones, in those naive years of my youth. But after that I had
the opportunity to be closely associated with a number of human
rights fact finding missions in CHT. I had the opportunity to talk to
the people on the ground and walk those eerie walks. In the process,
many many years ago, something fundamentally changed in my
quintessential Bangalee soul. I learned to separate the truths from
the lies. I learned that things are really much much worse on the
ground than what is reported and fed in the mainstream media.
A sustainable, democratic and peaceful solution to the CHT problem
must be found before it is too late.
CHT is a genocide waiting to happen
Few months ago, I had the opportunity to attend a talk by someone
whose area of academic expertise was genocide prevention. Discussing
Rwanda's Hutu-Tutsi scenario, he argued: "genocides just don't happen
out of the blue; slowly but steadily they reach their catastrophic
peak." I remember him saying that the early signs of genocide can
easily be detected and be prevented with minimal intervention from
the civil society. And these signs do not always come in the forms of
axes and machettis, gang rapes and pogrom. Often they are subtle,
sometimes too understated to be noticed. The signs can be anything
between a hate speech here, a communal gathering there, a threat
here, a murder there etc. Reading the recent Sajek reports, I had an
ominous feeling. I could not help feeling that CHT might as well be a
genocide waiting to happen. Let me quote some parts from the Sajek
report:
A Karbari from one village said "If they see 2/3 of us talking to
each other, they inform the Army Camp." Another Pahari inhabitant of
Gongaram Mukh, unwilling to state his name, said "We were told to put
up our houses about 2/3 km away from the road. The Settlers' houses
would be next to the road. Ali and his cronies said that they would
slaughter us like sacrificial cows if we said anything about it."
. . .
A Chakma inhabitant of Gongaram Mukh said that Ali and some others
had come to his shop on 19th April and threatened him that if he
remained there till after dusk, then they would burn him and the shop
down and kill his whole family. In fear, he sent his wife and
children to another house that very evening. On the next night, 20th
April, his house was burnt down.
. . .
The main reason for this tension was that the Bangalees had been
erecting houses near or adjacent to the Pahari houses. The same sight
could be seen all along the four kilometers of the main road between
Baghaihat and Gongaram. Next to the Pahari house or across it is a
house of a Bangalee settler, in which no-one appears to stay or to
sleep at night. After talking to the Settler there, we learned that
these huts had been put up over the last two months or so. From the
beginning the Paharis could not accept Bangalee settlements on their
traditional lands. There had already been several conflicts and
confrontations over this issue. But the hut construction did not end
in the face of these protests and the tension increased. [see here,
at p.2]
Any day from now, the CHT situation may blow out of proportion and
turn into a situation close to an ethnic cleansing. The worse thing
is - that may happen with the help of our own army and our own
government which would probably make it even more dangerous. Do we
really want that to happen in our names? Do we really want to wait,
take chances, and see if that happens? I do not. If that makes me any
less patriotic than the next person, then let it be. I repeat, early
signs of genocide are there. It is quite possible that I am wrong and
reading too much into the situation. But what if I am not?
PsyOps: Climate of mistrust and suspicion
In the Mess Hall of the Baghaichari Zone Army Headquarter, there used
to be a graffiti-type wall writing which was part of the Hall's
decoration. (This information is few years old so I am not sure if
the wall writing is still there). There is a reason I am mentioning
this. The content of the writing in question was indicative of the
climate of mistrust that had always prevailed in Rangamati for more
than two decades. I believe the readers would also agree with me if
they read the following summary of the wall writing which was
something along this line:
"Be careful when you meet a Pahari. They will smile at you and
pretend to be your friend. But remember, in the back of their minds
they are plotting against you, always. Do not trust them. Bangalees
and Paharis can never be friends."
A chill runs down my spine everytime I recall those sinister lines.
Later, an army Major (presumably working in the Intelligence)
explained to me that this is all part of their "Psy-Ops"
(psychological operations) strategies - which basically involve
actively spreading divisions and mistrusts among the inhabitants and
occasionally supporting one side (eg, the Bangalees) against the
other (the Paharis). According to him, the army machine cannot
function in the absence of this climate of fear and mistrust. I am no
military strategist so I would not understand what war games those
Officers and Jawans were playing at. Also, I do not know why that
particular Intelligence Officer felt inclined to share this
extraordinary state secret with me. Frankly, I do not care. As far as
I am concerned, there was a writing on the wall, and surely it meant
something to them and that worried me most; and it still does.
I met one USAID high official who was recently transferred to Dhaka.
From him, I found out that they too receive similar briefings when
they join "outposts" in the third world countries. In no uncertain
terms, this particular USAID officer was actually advised by his
department to treat the "natives" with "suspicion and caution." The
similarities are uncanny.
Racial behaviour and condescending attitudes
Sometimes I do have problem coming to terms with the state of our own
civility. I do not think anyone would deny that as a society we still
haven't reached that tolerant or civilised stage when disparaging the
Paharis or belittling the CHT cause generally may be considered as
politically incorrect. Many Bangalee people I know, even some of the
most educated and refined ones, are quite comfortable making off-the-
cuff remarks or offensive jokes or suggestions about the Paharis —
without even being aware (let alone ashamed) of the racist
connotations of their statements. Worse, rarely have I seen anyone
protesting against such bad behaviour in a Bangalee gathering. At
least in this respect, I dare say, there seem to exist a general
socio-cultural acceptance of bad behaviour among our fellow
Bangalees. Sometimes I do wonder - is there really any difference
between the mindset of the person who is comfortable making such
offensive remarks and the person who is actually setting fire to
Pahari houses or raping their women? That is something to think about.
Racially superior attitudes, both loud and muted, prevail among most
of our fellow Bangalees towards the Paharis. Their degree of severity
may vary but they do exist, ranging from rabid racism to faint hints
of racially condescending behaviour. I am sad to note that even among
some of the `most refined and the most sensitised' I have detected
these subtle notes, albeit unintentional. I have no doubt that they
too struggle hard inwardly in their minds to battle these prejudices
and stereotypes; but these attitudes exist. On several occasions, I
have seen refined "Dada-Didis from the big cities" visiting CHT on
special events (eg, Biju festival) - treating the locals with
conscious and practiced political correctness. I guess their efforts
should be praised. But in them, I could not help but detect the
subtle notes of complacency or notes of inequality. In my eyes, often
those encounters failed to appear as interactions between equals
based on respect. Some are even worse - where these dada-didis tend
to treat the locals as something "exotic." In the long run, these
attitudes of perceived allies do not help. I sincerely hope I am
mistaken.
The Paharis do not need charity, they do not need anyone's "favour"
or "good will." They do not need anyone's pity or generosity. Their's
is a just cause, not a missionary one. They are proud, upright,
dignified, and generous people. As a society/community they probably
represent the most progressive and civilised of Bangladeshis one
would ever encounter. Where in Bangladesh women can work and move
freely and safely at any hour of the day or night without being
attacked except in CHT? Where else in Bangladesh one can find a
community without domestic violence or dowry deaths except in CHT?
Where in Bangladesh women are truly empowered with equal (and
sometimes more) say in family and community matters?
I believe, the mainland Bangladeshis have a thing or two to learn
from the Paharis.
Islamist Mujahid training camps
It is not news any more that there used to be several Mujahid camps
even in the heart of Chittagong City. I know of at least one Kaomi
Madrassah in the hills (within the city area) where Mujahids were
trained to be sent to Afghanistan to fight for the Taliban. I have
seen the camp myself. That was before all the illegal hill cutting
activities started. Now, it may surprise some but both the training
camp and the Madrassah were within half a mile radius of Chittagong
police barrack. It is rather implausible that the law enforcement
authorities did not know about their existence. Strangely, there
never has been any intervention from the law.
Because of massive hill-cutting (thanks to successive Mayors of
Chittagong with the connivance of illegal property developers), long
gone are those magnificent hills, and long lost are those Mujahid
outfits. I will leave the environmental story for another post. The
point is, the training camps moved. One theory is they moved to the
deeper regions of CHT as I have been told by several people including
one eye witness. As far as this theory is concerned it is
still "hearsay" to me, and therefore, is something that needs to be
verified with more concrete evidence. However, as a matter of logic,
it is not implausible since the hill tracts would be a much better
place to hide clandestine training camps. If that really is the case,
I would be curious to know if the military administration in CHT have
any role in the matter.
Problems of a military solution
Sovereignty-insecured anti-India attitude is one of the reasons why
our military strategists think the CHT solution needs to be a
military one. Their solution is to populate the land with as many
mainland Bangalees as possible so that the Paharis become minority in
their own land. All these to counter possible retaliatory and
unfavourable referendums if the occasion ever arises. In the process,
what the militaristic solution is actually achieving is that it is
categorically alienating the Paharis in the CHT. Our military
strategists are forgetting that the Paharis are also cititzens of
this country, with full rights. Citizens, who must not be viewed and
treated with "suspicion and caution." Treat someone as a stranger and
stranger they would become one day. As a policy this is unwise. This
is also unrealistic and unsustainable because military solutions cost
a lot. Our government needs to find a solution, preferably a
political one, that would not involve stationing large battalions on
the remote hills, or funding clandestine counter insurgency
initiatives. This is not how we treat the people of Sylhet or of
Dinajpur or of Barisal. So, how it is justifiable to treat the
Paharis of CHT this way?
Political Leadership: Indigestion of Nationalist doctrine
The armed forces could call the shots in CHT because political
leadership failed everyone in this respect towards a political
solution of the problem. Also, most of the mainstream political
parties and the successive political governments have adopted the
policy of appeasement, never wanting to antagonise the military
establishment. In the process all our leaders failed the Paharis,
dating back to 1972. On one hand, BNP as one of the major political
parties was itself born inside the military cantonment which in the
later years tag-teamed with the most communal of the political forces
such as Jamati Islami. On the other hand, to the Awami League (which
claims to be a secular non-communal party), the Paharis have been
nothing more than vote banks. However, AL seem to be the only party
to have taken "some" steps in the right direction, eg, in the form of
a Peace Treaty, although there can be a lot of criticisms about the
form, content or implementation of that Treaty. Above all, post-
independence Bangladesh's history has been a continuing saga of
flirtation with "nationalist" doctrines and their resulting
indigestions in our body politic, and CHT seemed to have borne the
brunt of it.
Conclusion
It is not that I am trying to side with a community merely for the
sake of it being disadvantaged. Sustainable political solution in CHT
is a must not only because justice demands it, strategic wisdom and
lasting peace demands that too. The problem need to be solved,
politically, once and for all. It is the right thing to do, it is the
smart thing to do. Today, the majority of the Bangalee population is
opposing "a" CHT solution in favour of the Paharis (anecdotal and
from experience, for want of researched data). But if we give
currency to their versions of politico-military wisdom merely because
they happen to be the majority, then there will be a time when
looking back–we would regret not doing enough or not speaking up.
Consider the regret many Pakistanis feel until today whose silence
made continued discrimination of East Pakistan possible and
eventually resulted in its separation. Can we not learn from history?
We have to realise that communal and racially motivated Bangalees are
part of the problem, not the solution. Therefore, if we keep paying
too much heed to their twisted narratives, we will deviate from our
course. Perhaps it is time we think of new narratives to approach the
CHT issue with a whole new set of vocabularies. Frankly, at this
moment, I have no idea what that narrative would be like but surely
we need to think of something before it is too late. Because, after
37 years of creation of Bangladesh, it is now clear that the existing
narratives are not helpful, for either side. Things are getting worse
in CHT and the problem is not going to go away anytime soon.
You decide.
______________________________________________________________________
In this context I would also like the members to go through the full
text of the Cht peace agreement and draw your conclusions.
Following is the English rendering of the peace agreement signed
between the National Committee on Chittagong Hill Tracts affairs,
formed by the government of Bangladesh, and Parbatya Chattagram Jana
Sanghati Samity, reports BSS.
Keeping full and unswerved allegiance in Bangladesh's state
sovereignty and territorial integrity in Bangladesh's Chittagong Hill
Tracts region under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of the
People's Republic of Bangladesh, the National Committee on Chittagong
Hill Tracts, on behalf of the government of the People's Republic of
Bangladesh, and Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samity, on behalf
of the inhabitants of Chittagong Hill Tracts, reached the following
agreement in four parts (namely: Ka, Kha, Ga, Gha) to uphold the
political, social, cultural, educational and economic rights of all
the people of Chittagong Hill Tracts region, to expedite socio-
economic development process and to preserve respective the rights of
all the citizens of Bangladesh and their development.
(Ka) General:
1. Both the sides recognised the need for protecting the
characteristics and attaining overall development of the region
considering Chittagong Hill Tracts as a tribal inhabited region.
2. Both the parties have decided to formulate, change, amend and
incorporate concerned acts, regulations and practices as soon as
possible in keeping with the consensus and responsibility expressed
in different sections of the agreement.
3. An implementation committee will be formed to monitor the
implementation process of the agreement with the following members:
Ka) A member nominated by the Prime Minister: Convenor
Kha) Chairman of the taskforce formed under the purview of the
agreement ............ : member
Ga) President of Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samity ......... :
member
4. The agreement will come into effect from the date of itssigning
and execution by both the sides. This agreement will be valid from
the date of its effect until all the steps are executed as per the
agreement.
(Kha) Chittagong Hill Tracts Local Government Council/Hill District
Council:
Both the sides have reached agreement with regard to changing,
amending, incorporating and writing off the existing Parbatya Zila
Sthanio Sarkar Parishad Ain 1989 (Rangamati Parbatya Zila Sthanio
Sarkar Parishad Ain 1989, Bandarban Parbatya Zila Sthanio Sarkar
Parishad Ain 1989, Khagrachhari Parbatya Zila Sthanio Sarkar Parishad
Ain 1989) and its different clauses before this agreement comes into
force.
1. The word "tribal" used in different clauses of the Parishad Ain
will stay.
2. The name "Parbatya Zila Sthanio Sarkar Parishad" will be amended
and the name of parishad will be "Parbatya Zila Parishad."
3. "Non-tribal permanent residents" will mean those who are not a
tribal but have legal lands and generally live in hill districts at
specific addresses.
4. Ka) There will be 3 (three) seats for women in each of the
Parbatya Zila Parishad. One third (1/3) of these seats will be for
non-tribals.
Kha) 1, 2, 3 and 4 sub-clauses of clause 4 will remain in force as
per the original act.
Ga) The words "deputy commissioner" and "deputy commissioner's" in
the second line of sub-clause (5) of clause 4 will be replaced
by "circle chief" and "circle chief's".
Gha) the following sub-clause will be incorporated in the clause
4 "The concerned circle office will ascertain whether a person is non-
tribal or not on the basis of submission of certificate given by
concerned mouza headman/union parishad chairman/pourashabha chairman
and no non-tribal person can become the non-tribal candidate without
the certificate received from the circle officer regarding this."
5. In the clause 7 it has been stated that the chairman or any other
elected member will have to take oath or give declaration before
Chittagong Divisional Commissioner before taking over office.
Amending this in place of "Chittagong Divisional Commissioner," the
members will take oath or give declaration before "any High Court
Division Judge."
6. The words "to Chittagong Divisional Commissioner" will be replaced
by "as per election rules" in the fourth line of clause-8.
7. The words "three years" will be replace by "five years" in
thesecond line of clause 10.
8. In clause number 14 there will be provision that a tribal member
elected by other members of the Parishad will chair and discharge
other responsibilities if the post of chairman falls vacant or in his
absence.
9. The existing clause number 17 will be replaced by the following
sentences: A person will be considered eligible to be enlisted in the
voters list if he/she (1) is a Bangladeshi citizen (2) he/she is not
below the 18 years (3) appropriate court has not declared him
mentally sick (4) he/she is a permanent resident of hill district.
10. In sub-clause 2 of clause number 20 the words "delimitations of
constituencies" will be incorporated independently.
11. In sub-clause 2 of clause 25 there will be a provision that the
chairman of all the meetings of the Parishad or a tribal member
elected by other members of the Parishad will chair meetings and
discharge other responsibilities if the post of chairman falls vacant
or in his absence.
12. As the entire region of Khagrachhari district is not included in
the Mong circle, the words "Khagrachhari Mong Chief" in clause number
26 of Khagrachhari Parbatya Zila Sthanio Sarkar Parishad Ain will be
replaced by the words "Mong circle chief and Chakma circle chief."
Similarly, there will be scope for the presence of Bomang chief in
the meetings of Rangamati Parbatya Zila Parishad. In the same way,
there will be provision that the Bomang circle chief can attend the
meetings of Bandarban Parbatya Zila Parishad meetings if he wishes or
invited to join.
13. In sub-clause (1) and sub-clause (2) of clause 31 there will be a
provision that a chief executive officer of the status of a deputy
secretary will be there as secretary in a Parishad and the tribal
officials will get priority in this post.
14. Ka) In sub clause (1) of clause 32 there will be a provision that
the Parishad will be able to create new posts for different classes
of officers and employees for properly conducting the activities of
the Parishad.
Kha) The sub-clause 2 of clause 32 will be amended as follows: The
Parishad can, according to rules, recruit class three and four
employees and can transfer, suspend, terminate or given any other
punishment. But condition would be that in case of such appointments
the tribal residents of the district will be given priority.
Ga) As per sub-clause (3) of clause 32, the government, in
consultation with the Parishad, may appoint officers for the other
posts and there will be legal provision to removed, suspend or
terminate or penalise officers as per the government rules.
15. 'As per rules' will be mentioned in Sub-clause (3) of Rule 33.
16. In the third line of Sub-clause (1) of Rule 36, the words "or in
any way devised by the government" will be deleted.
17. Ka) The principal clause of the 'fourth' of Sub-clause (One) of
Clause 37 will be valid.
Kha) "As per rules "will be included in Sub-clause (2), Gha, of Rule
37.
18. Sub-clause (3) of clause 38, will be cancelled and sub-clause (4)
will be amended in conformity with the following text, "a new budget
can be prepared and approved, if needed, at any time, before the
completion of the previous financial year."
19. Rules 42 will incorporate the following sub-clause: "The
parishad, with the allocated money from the government, will receive,
initiate or implement any development project in the transferred
subjects and all national level development programmes will be
implemented through the parishad by the concerned
ministries/divisions/organisations."
20. The word "Parishad" will replace the word "government" in the
second line of Sub-clause (2) of Rule 45.
21. Rules 50, 51, and 52 will be repealed and following clauses will
be introduced:
"If needed, the government will give advice or regulatory directives
for streamlining the Parishad activities with the objectives of the
aforesaid rules."
"The government, if the government receives any hard evidence that
any activity or proposed activity of the Parishad is violating the
aforesaid rules or is inconsistent with it, will have the authority
to ask for written information along with explanation. The government
will also have the authority to give advice or directives in this
regard."
22. "Within 90 days of abolition of the Parishad" shall be read in
place of "after the expiry of defunct period" before the words "the
act" under clause 53 sub-clause (3).
23. The word 'government' will be replaced by the word "ministry" in
the third and fourth lines in clause 61.
24. (A) sub-clause (1) in clause 62 will be replaced by the following:
Whatever be the provisions in the currently prevailing laws, hill
districts police sub-inspector and below shall be appointed by the
Parishad as per the prescribed rules and the Parishad will transfer,
and take action against them as per the prescribed rules.
However, the condition will be that tribals of the district will get
preference in case of this appointment.
25. The words "supports will be provided" will remain in thirdline in
clause 63.
26. Clause 64 will be amended as follows:
a) Whatever exists in the currently prevailing laws, without prior
permission of the parishad, no lands, including leasable khas lands
in the district, can be leased out, sold, purchased or transferred.
However, it will not be applicable in case of the reserved forest,
Kaptai Hydroelectricity Project area, Betbunia Satellite Station
area, state-owned industrial enterprises and lands recorded in the
name of the government.
b) Whatever exists in the currently prevailing other laws, the
government cannot acquire or transfer any lands, hills and forests
under the jurisdictions of the Hill District Parishad without prior
discussion and approval of the Parishad.
Ga) The Parishad may supervise or control the work of headmen,
chairman, amin, surveyors, kanungo and assistant commissioners (land).
Gha) The fringe land of Kaptai lake will be leased out on priority
basis to their original owners.
27. Clause 65 will be amended to formulate the following: For the
time being, whatever law is in force, the land development tax of the
district will be in the hand of the Parishad and the tax to be
collected on that account will be in the fund of the Parishad.
28. Clause 67 will be amended to formulate the following: Parishad
and the government will raise specific proposals if it is necessary
for the coordination of the Parishad and the government, and
coordination of work will be done through mutual consultations.
29. Sub-clause (1) of Clause 68 will be amended to formulate the
following sub-clause:
With a view to fulfilling the objectives of this law, the government
will be able to prepare rules after discussion with the Parishad
through gazette notification. Even after the formulation of any rule,
the Parishad will have the right to appeal to the government for re-
consideration of such rules.
30. Ka) In the first and second paragraphs of sub-clause (1) of
Clause 69, the words "prior approval of the government" will be
dropped and following part will be added after the words "should be
done" in the third para:
It is conditional that if the government disagrees with any part of
the provision formulated then the government will be able to provide
suggestions or directives regarding the provision.
Kha) In the (Ja) of sub-clause (2) of Clause 69 the words "the power
of the chairman will be given to any officers of theparishad" will be
dropped.
31. Clause 70 will be deleted.
32. Clause 79 will be amended to formulate the following section:
The Parishad will be able to make written appeal to the government in
case it feels that a law passed by the Jatiya Sangsad or any other
authority is difficult for the district or objectionable for the
tribals after stating the reasons of the difficulty or objection and
the government may take appropriate steps for redressal as per the
appeal.
33. Ka) The word supervision will be added after "discipline" in the
schedule number one on the activities of the Parishad.
Kha) The activities of the Parishad mentioned in number three will be
added with the following:
(1) Vocational education,
(2) Primary education in mother tongue
(3) Secondary education.
Ga) The words 'reserved' or will be dropped from the first schedule
of the activities of Parishad and sub-clause 6 (Kha).
34. The following subjects will be included in the functions and
responsibilities of the hill district parishads:
(Ka) Land and land management,
(Kha) Police (local),
(Ga) Tribal law and social justice,
(Gha) Youth welfare,
(Uma) Environmental protection and development,
(Cha) Local tourism,
(Chha) improvement trust and other local government institutions,
Barring paurashava and union parishads,
(Ja) Issue of licence to local industries and business, barring
Kaptai water resources, proper use and irrigation of other rivers and
canals and beels,
(Jha) Preservation of statistics of birth and deaths,
(Ta) Business transactions and
(Tha) Jum cultivation.
35. The following subjects and sources will be included for
imposition of taxes, rate, toll and fees by the Parishad stated in
the second schedule:
(Ka) Registration fee of manual vehicles,
(Kha) Tax on buying and selling of commodities,
(Ga) Holding tax on land and buildings,
(Gha) Tax on domestic animals,
(Uma) Fees of social judgement,
(Cha) Holding tax on government and non-government industries, (Chha)
A portion of royalty on forest resources,
(Ja) Supplementary tax on cinema, jatra and circus,
(Jha) Partial royalty of contracts by government for search and
exploration of mineral resources,(Neo) Tax on business,
(Ta) Tax on Lottery,
(Tha) Tax on catching fish.
(Ga) Hill tracts regional parishad
1. A regional council will be formed combining the three hill
districts local government parishad through amending some clause of
three hill districts Local Government Parishad Act 1989 with a view
to strengthening and making them effective.
2. Chairman of the parishad will be indirectly elected by the elected
members of the parishad. The chairman will enjoy the status of a
state minister and he must be a tribal.
3. The parishad will consist of 22 members, including its chairman.
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