Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is adamant to destroy the world most beautiful mangrove forest for making Indian Company happy

The government of Sheikh Hasina is adamant to construct coal based power station in Rampal near Sundarban. Without considering a wide and devastating consequences for the environment and natural habitat of Royal Bengal Tiger and other rare spices that are found solely in Sundarban. 

There are many reasons why people of Bangladesh are unease with Rampal coal based power station.  Among them the serious concern are the absent of government adhering to national and international law before making a decision , imbalance agreement that are counter to interest of Bangladesh, and  location of the power station that can have calamitous impact on Sundarban. It is also world’s largest mangrove forest and a UNESCO world’s heritage site.

For establishing this 1320 Megawatt power plant, Bangladesh will need to import about 4.72 million tons of coal each year. This massive freight will need about 59 ships each having an 80,000 ton capacity that take to the port which is 40 Kilometres away from the plant and its route cuts through the Sundarbans.

As coal based power plant creates serious environmental pollution, no country in the world usually gives permission to set up large coal based power plant within 20 to 25 km distance of forest, agricultural land and residential area.

The Indian company, NTPC, with whom Bangladesh has made the agreement to produce 1320 Megawatts electricity, has terms and condition which are vague, unequal and not favourable to National interest of Bangladesh. According to the agreement the Indian company will only invest 15 percent of capital but will have operational rights of 50 percent. They are exempted from paying tax, Bangladesh government has to take loan from them and above all, the price of electricity produced is not settled or fixed. All this flaws and vagueness in contract will be advantageous for the Indian company and not for Bangladesh.

According to national and international law, a power station on that scale that is to be built in Rampal and near Sandarban has to go through strict environmental impact assessment before any agreement is done. Clearly this did not take place. In fact we have seen long before any legal process is followed, the government started acquiring land for the project, and other private companies are now busy in acquiring land in the vicinity of Sandarban which can only endanger the existence of Sundarban, as it might become a commercial centre for other environmentally unfriendly activities that may destroy this complex ecosystem comprising one of the three largest single tracts of mangrove forests of the world.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh already have unveiled the foundation plaque for Rampal power plant in spite of growing public concern that the coal-fired plant, only 14 km off the Sundarbans, may bring on a disaster for the world’s largest mangrove forest.

Environmentalists, socio-political organizations, and political parties, including the main opposition BNP, have been opposing the government’s plan to set up the plant at Rampal of Bagerhat, 14 kilometres away from the Sundarbans.

Bangladesh government of Sheikh Hasina is hell bent on damaging our countries most beautiful landscape without due consideration to our countries long term interest. This project must stop not only for the impact on environment but also for greatly unequal contract with the Indian company to the lose of Bangladesh