UNB, Dhaka :
Shujan, a citizens’ platform advocating good governance, has urged the government to scrap the proposed coal-based Rampal Power Plant and implement the project away from the Sundarbans.
In a joint statement on Monday, Shujan president M Hafizuddin Khan and its secretary Dr Badiul Alam Majumder said they have been observing with grave concern that the government is heading towards implementation of the controversial Rampal Power Plant ignoring the concerns and protests of environmentalists, civil society members, local and
international scientists and social and political organizations as well. On July 12, 2016, Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company (Pvt) Limited (BIFPCL) signed an agreement with Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited (BHEL), India, to construct the coal-fired power plant. The power plant will be built under a joint venture of Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) and the National Thermal Power Corporation Limited of India under the BIFPCL banner.
The Shujan statement said the Sundarbans is situated about 14 kilometres away from the proposed 1,320-megawatt coal-based power plant site, but the peripheral area of the forest begins within four kilometers from the plant. No power plant can be built within 20 kilometres of a forest or a wildlife sanctuary, as per the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Guideline Manual 2012 of India.
Shujan, a citizens’ platform advocating good governance, has urged the government to scrap the proposed coal-based Rampal Power Plant and implement the project away from the Sundarbans.
In a joint statement on Monday, Shujan president M Hafizuddin Khan and its secretary Dr Badiul Alam Majumder said they have been observing with grave concern that the government is heading towards implementation of the controversial Rampal Power Plant ignoring the concerns and protests of environmentalists, civil society members, local and
international scientists and social and political organizations as well. On July 12, 2016, Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company (Pvt) Limited (BIFPCL) signed an agreement with Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited (BHEL), India, to construct the coal-fired power plant. The power plant will be built under a joint venture of Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) and the National Thermal Power Corporation Limited of India under the BIFPCL banner.
The Shujan statement said the Sundarbans is situated about 14 kilometres away from the proposed 1,320-megawatt coal-based power plant site, but the peripheral area of the forest begins within four kilometers from the plant. No power plant can be built within 20 kilometres of a forest or a wildlife sanctuary, as per the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Guideline Manual 2012 of India.
