PM Tarique to head reconstituted 19-member CHT National Committee

The government has reconstituted the 19-member National Committee on Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), with Prime Minister Tarique Rahman appointed as its chairman.

A notification to this effect was issued on Thursday (September 10).

The chief coordinator of the Armed Forces Division under the Ministry of Defence has been appointed as the committee’s chief coordinator, while the director general of the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) will serve as its member-secretary.

The reconstituted committee will set priorities on key issues concerning the Chittagong Hill Tracts, oversee the implementation and financial aspects of various initiatives, and coordinate security and law-and-order matters in the region.

According to the notification, nine ministers and advisers have been included as members. Other members include the Cabinet secretary, the principal secretary to the prime minister, members of parliament elected from the three hill districts, the principal coordinator for SDG affairs at the Prime Minister’s Office, and the director generals of the National Security Intelligence (NSI) and DGFI.

The committee will monitor the implementation of priority programmes related to the CHT, including their income and expenditure, and assess progress in carrying out various initiatives.

It will also determine the operational jurisdictions and areas of responsibility of security forces, law-enforcement agencies and other relevant organisations deployed in the region.

Another key responsibility will be to formulate a national strategy for the overall development of the Chittagong Hill Tracts and take necessary steps to implement it.

The notification said the committee may invite officials from any ministry, security force or law-enforcement agency to its meetings when necessary.

The Armed Forces Division of the Prime Minister’s Office will provide the committee’s secretariat and handle its institutional and administrative affairs.

The notification was signed, by order of the President, by Additional Secretary of the Cabinet Division Md Humayun Kabir.