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Chattogram Hill Tracts Affairs Minister Saching Prue MP has stressed the need to undertake projects with strong economic potential to improve livelihoods and accelerate development in the hill districts.
He made the remarks at the July 2026 Annual Development Programme (ADP) meeting of the Ministry of Chattogram Hill Tracts Affairs held at the conference room of the Chattogram Hill Tracts Complex on Bailey Road in Dhaka on Tuesday.
Referring to the suitability of hill soils for specialised plantations, the minister said several Asian countries, including Vietnam, Cambodia and Nepal, had advanced economically through shifting cultivation and other forms of hill agriculture.
“We have to bring a similar revolution to agriculture in our country,” he said.
The minister called for the use of high-yielding technologies in cashew and coffee cultivation to boost the national economy. He directed officials concerned to ensure proper use of land and expand the production of commercially valuable crops.
He also stressed the establishment of soil trade centres in the hill areas to assess soil quality. Environment-friendly cash crops, improved varieties of mushrooms and high-quality lotkon should be cultivated based on soil conditions while maintaining environmental balance, he said.
Saching Prue also underscored the importance of goat and sheep farming to help people in the hill areas become economically self-reliant.
State Minister for Chattogram Hill Tracts Affairs Barrister Mir Mohammad Helal Uddin MP said land acquisition-related work in the CHT must be completed within the stipulated timeframe. Genuine affected families should be rehabilitated on government khas land during the acquisition process, he said.
He called for resolving land ownership disputes in consultation with district council chairmen in accordance with customary rules.
Urging officials to accelerate projects through better coordination and avoid delays, the state minister said tobacco cultivation should be discouraged as it is harmful to society and the environment. Farmers should instead be encouraged to cultivate sugarcane, cotton, cashew and coffee, he said.
He also called for measures to address water shortages in remote areas, expand orchards for organic fruit production, increase rambutan cultivation and establish cold storage and dried-fruit processing facilities.
As part of efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and ensure sustainable development, he said special educational arrangements would be introduced for girls at para centres and multimedia classrooms would be established through a central satellite system.
During the meeting, Chattogram Hill Tracts Development Board Chairman Major General (retd) Anup Kumar Chakma and Vice-Chairman (Joint Secretary) Sheikh Saleh Ahmad received the Best Innovation Award from the minister and state minister.
The newly elected chairmen of the three hill district councils also attended the meeting for the first time and shared their views. They were Ma Ma Ching of Bandarban Hill District Council, Mra Sa Thowai Marma of Khagrachhari Hill District Council and Dipan Talukdar of Rangamati Hill District Council.
The meeting provided specific guidelines for promoting overall development and economic prosperity in the hill areas.
Secretary of the Ministry of Chattogram Hill Tracts Affairs Mohammad Mizanur Rahman chaired the meeting. Additional Secretary Md Monirul Islam, Chittagong Hill Tracts Regional Council member KS Mong, officials of the Chattogram Hill Tracts Development Board and other concerned officials were also present.
The meeting discussed a number of development projects, including construction of the Chattogram Hill Tracts Regional Council Complex, the Climate Resilient Livelihood Improvement and Watershed Management (CRLIWM-CHT) project, expansion of cotton cultivation and poverty reduction, sustainable social service delivery, and construction of various communication and connectivity roads.