For 36 uninterrupted years, the district councils of Rangamati, Khagrachhari, and Bandarban have operated without a single election. In this vacuum of accountability, party-appointed chairmen and members turned these institutions into personal fiefdoms-fueling a chain of corruption that drained development funds meant for hill communities.
With no elected representatives and no public scrutiny, the councils became fertile ground for ghost projects, bribery rackets, and institutionalised nepotism. Hundreds of thousands of hill residents were left deprived of fair development while politically loyal appointees thrived.
But the wall of impunity is finally cracking. The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has moved in, issuing arrest warrants and filing cases in what appears to be the first real crackdown on CHT council corruption in decades.
The rot runs deep. The councils were first introduced under the Local Government (District Council) Act, 1989, with the lone election held on 25 June 1989. Since then, the councils-unlike the 61 other district councils in Bangladesh-have remained under special laws tied to the 1997 CHT Accord, which mandates elections every five years. Yet successive governments sidestepped these elections by exploiting debates over a separate voter list demanded by the JSS, allowing political loyalists to rule indefinitely.
Over the decades, corruption became systemic. Investigations reveal three major graft channels
Staff appointments and transfers, often sold to the highest bidder.
Allocation of food grains, regularly siphoned off through inflated records.
Development projects, many of which existed only on paper-classic ghost contracts manipulated by party networks.
Now, for the first time, accountability has begun to bite. Arrest warrants have been issued in four ACC cases against nine people, including former Rangamati council members, two executive engineers, and several contractors. In Khagrachhari, council chair Ziruna Tripura has been permanently removed. More investigations are underway in all three districts.
Local voices say the collapse was inevitable.
"Without elections for 36 years, the council became monopolized. Party nominees ran it like a private enterprise," said Md Omar Faruk, president of the Rangamati District Anti-Corruption Committee.
Civil society representative Jahangir Alam Munna added that the entire appointment system was opaque from the start, depriving citizens of genuine representation.
"If corruption prevails here, people lose hope. Elections are vital for accountability," said Advocate Dino Nath Tanchangya, president of Sujan Rangamati.
Officials now acknowledge the crisis.
Rangamati council CEO Khondokar Mohammad Rizaul Karim said administrative vigilance has been strengthened, project lists made public, and action taken against corrupt officials.
ACC Deputy Director Zahid Kalam confirmed that four cases were filed after allegations of non-existent projects, with charge sheets already submitted.
After decades of silence, the CHT councils-long shielded by political manipulation and legal grey zones-are finally facing the glare of accountability. Whether this marks a genuine clean-up or just the beginning of another long political struggle remains to be seen.
