Anisul Islam Noor :
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in July gave a directive not to construct factories and infrastructure including Rampal Power Plant near the Sundarbans before carrying out the survey of Strategic Environment Assessment (SEA) on the southwest region.
In July, the World Heritage Committee of
UNESCO at its 41st meeting conveyed this decision to the government of Bangladesh.
But the government has started piling for constructing the Rampal Power Plant project in defiance of UNESCO.
Contradicting the heritage committee’s decision, energy adviser to the prime minister Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury at a press conference in July said, that the UNESCO had withdrawn its objection on Rampal power plant project.
A sources closed to Rampal power plant project said that the progress was very slow. Three and a half per cent of the project work has been implemented so far.
On 7 July, the foreign ministry in a press release also said that UNECSO had withdrawn its objection to Rampal.
However, the National Committee to Protect the Sundarbans and National Committee to Protect Oil Gas Mineral Resources Power and Ports at a press conference said that UNESCO had not withdrawn its objection to the Rampal power plant. Bangladesh Power cell Director General Mohammad Hossain, who attended the heritage committee meeting in Poland, said the implementation of Rampal project and SEA survey will go on simultaneously. If any recommendation comes from the survey, it would be included in the project, he added. Convener of National Committee to Protect Oil Gas Mineral Resources Power and Ports Professor Anu Muhammad said, the implementation of Rampal power project will destroy the Sundarbans.
Replying a e-mail of eminent environmentalist here on 9 October, Chief of Asia Pacific unit of World Heritage Centre Feng Jing said, the world heritage committee requested the Bangladesh government to ensure that no development project including Rampal should be implemented before the SEA survey. Earlier, it was estimated that the plant would start generating electricity in 2018. But the Indian implementing agency told the government in September that generation would begin in September of 2020.
In 2009, Bangladesh and India jointly decided to construct a power plant in the southwest region of the country.
In 2010, a total of 930 acres of land were acquired to implement the project at Rampal of Bagerhat district some 14 kilometers away from the Sundarbans, a World Heritage site declared by the UNESCO.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in July gave a directive not to construct factories and infrastructure including Rampal Power Plant near the Sundarbans before carrying out the survey of Strategic Environment Assessment (SEA) on the southwest region.
In July, the World Heritage Committee of
UNESCO at its 41st meeting conveyed this decision to the government of Bangladesh.
But the government has started piling for constructing the Rampal Power Plant project in defiance of UNESCO.
Contradicting the heritage committee’s decision, energy adviser to the prime minister Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury at a press conference in July said, that the UNESCO had withdrawn its objection on Rampal power plant project.
A sources closed to Rampal power plant project said that the progress was very slow. Three and a half per cent of the project work has been implemented so far.
On 7 July, the foreign ministry in a press release also said that UNECSO had withdrawn its objection to Rampal.
However, the National Committee to Protect the Sundarbans and National Committee to Protect Oil Gas Mineral Resources Power and Ports at a press conference said that UNESCO had not withdrawn its objection to the Rampal power plant. Bangladesh Power cell Director General Mohammad Hossain, who attended the heritage committee meeting in Poland, said the implementation of Rampal project and SEA survey will go on simultaneously. If any recommendation comes from the survey, it would be included in the project, he added. Convener of National Committee to Protect Oil Gas Mineral Resources Power and Ports Professor Anu Muhammad said, the implementation of Rampal power project will destroy the Sundarbans.
Replying a e-mail of eminent environmentalist here on 9 October, Chief of Asia Pacific unit of World Heritage Centre Feng Jing said, the world heritage committee requested the Bangladesh government to ensure that no development project including Rampal should be implemented before the SEA survey. Earlier, it was estimated that the plant would start generating electricity in 2018. But the Indian implementing agency told the government in September that generation would begin in September of 2020.
In 2009, Bangladesh and India jointly decided to construct a power plant in the southwest region of the country.
In 2010, a total of 930 acres of land were acquired to implement the project at Rampal of Bagerhat district some 14 kilometers away from the Sundarbans, a World Heritage site declared by the UNESCO.
