Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Board

The Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Board is a government agency established in the 1970s by the then president of Bangladesh, Ziaur Rahman, in response to the Shanti Bahini—led insurgency, the armed wing of Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh.^[1]

Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Board

পার্বত্য চট্টগ্রাম উন্নয়ন বোর্ড
Agency overview
Formed	1976; 49 years ago (1976)
Superseding agency	Development of Chittagong Hill Tracts
Jurisdiction	Chittagong Hill Tracts
Headquarters	CHTDB Building, Rangamati-4500, Bangladesh
Annual budget	Allocated by Government
Agency executives	Supradip Chakma, Chairman Ripon Chakma, Vice-Chairman
Parent department	Government of Bangladesh
Parent agency	Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs
Website	chtdb.gov.bd

History

Headed by an army general, the board was formed to provide special attention and administer and solve issues related to the Chittagong Hill Tracts conflict. The board was formed in 1976 through the Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Board Ordinance.^[2]

The first chairman from civil administration is Bir Bahadur Ushwi Sing, an MP who was elected from Bandarban constituency and a State Minister of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs. He was appointed in 1996. Later in 2002, Wadud Bhuiyan, the former member of the parliament from Khagrachari constituency, was appointed as chairman of Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Board. In 2009, Bir Bahadur was appointed again as the chairman of this agency.^[3] Afterwards, Naba Bikram Kishore Tripura was the chairman of the board in 2013 and served till 2021.^[4]