Anisul Islam Noor :
A six-member government delegation visited the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France last week to convince the UN body about the proposed 1,320 MW coal-based Rampal power plant near the Sundarbans.
The delegation, led by Raisul Alam Mondal, director general of the Department of Environment, held meetings with the high-ups of UNESCO which recently asked the government to relocate the project site to somewhere else. The delegation also urged the UNESCO not to place the Sundarbans issue or not to declare the Sundarbans as a ‘hazardous site’ in the upcoming 41st conference of the UN wing.
Other members of the team are Mongla Port Authority Chairman Rear Admiral Reazuddin Ahmed, Power Cell Director General Mohammad Hossain, DoE Director Dr Sultan Ahmed, Khulna Divisional Forest Conservator Zahir Uddin Ahmed and Centre for Environmental and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS) Deputy Director Malik Fida Abdullah Khan.
A joint secretary of Energy Division on Monday told this reporter that land had already been acquired for the power plant. Engineering procurement contract (EPC) has also been signed for the 1320 MW project with Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL).
