More reasons to stop Rampal power plant

[idune]

More reasons to stop Rampal power plant

It is indeed unfortunate that while the Indian state-owned National Thermal Power Corporation is not allowed to set up any thermal power plant within 25 kilometres of any of India’s forest reserves, wildlife sanctuaries, agricultural plots, residential areas and others, the Awami League-led government has allowed Bangladesh Power Development Board to float a joint venture company with the company to set up a coal-fired plant at Rampal in Bagerhat, just four kilometres off the ecologically sensitive area of Sundarban.

According to a report published in New Age Xtra on Friday, the NTPC has been denied approval for setting up a thermal plant, similar in nature of the proposed Rampal plant, on a number of occasions by the Indian central and state authorities dealing with environmental concerns in the past few years. To be precise, the company failed to get approval of the Indian central green panel (Green Tribunal) in 2010 for constructing a thermal power plant, original location for which was Gajmara in the same state, at Gadarwara of Madhya Pradesh as ‘a vast portion of double crop agricultural land’ reportedly comprised the site. The environment and state authorities of Orissa have, moreover, voiced disapproval of the project on the same pleas when the NTPC shifted its location to Daripalli in the state.

What is more intriguing is that the government appears hell bent on implementing the project despite green activists at large, including experts, being unrelenting on demand for shifting the project’s location to some other areas, if not scrapping it altogether, not at least ecologically sensitive. The latter argue that the plant, if put in place, will require around 50,000 people of the villages located in the adjoining areas of the plant to get evacuated. Additionally, in line with the predictions made by environment and ecology experts, the plant will release various toxic gases such as carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen, sulphur dioxide and a huge amount of fly ash, thereby, putting the surrounding areas and, most importantly, Sundarban at grave risk.
In fact, the Rampal plant is another poignant pointer to the incumbents’ predilections for opening the country land to Indian investment even at the cost of making the land a dumping ground for the projects rejected by the Indian people concerned about their overall adverse impact on public health and environment. It is also important to recall here that the 1320MW power plant costing $ 1.8 billion is being constructed allegedly ignoring the relevant laws of the land. The government began to acquire 1,834 acres of land in the proposed area on December 27, while the project is yet to get an official environmental clearance. Not only that, defying High Court directives issued on more occasions than one, the BPDB, in association with the local government, started filling the rivers and canals running through the project area quite before the completion of the feasibility study over the project.

People haunted for long by power woes definitely welcome investments, local and foreign, in the power but not at the cost of environment and ecology in any part of the country. Hence, the incumbents immediately need to address the concerns made so far about the Rampal plant.

More reasons to stop Rampal power plant

 

[idune]

Rampal plant feared to hamper shrimp industry

The proposed 1,320-megawatt Rampal power plant near the Sundarbans will expose the country’s multi-million dollar shrimp industry to serious threat as the core shrimp culture is based in the area, said experts and stockholders.

They said although the department of environment approved the environment impact assessment report of the coal-based power plant, but the shrimp industry will face severe negative impact.
‘The Sundarbans area hosts the black tiger shrimp which is a major export product. If the government allows the Rampal power plant, it will damage the natural environment of the area and living place of black tiger,’ Bangladesh Shrimp and Fish Foundation chairman Syed Mahmudul Huq told New Age.

He said shrimp is already suffering from a number of problems because of lack of government support.‘In such a situation, if the natural system of Sundarbans faces any imbalance because of the power plant then the entire industry will be destroyed,’ he said.Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company, a joint venture between the PDB and the NTPC with 50:50 shares, is implementing the power project at Rampal in Bagerhat district near the Sundarbans.

The environment department last month gave green signal to the power plant which was highly criticised by the environmentalists and civil society.Several businessmen engaged to shrimp production and processing expressed their concern to New Age but denied to comment because of the sensitivity of the issue.

‘This is very threatening for our industry. In Sundarbans we culture the shrimp as the water condition of the area supports it perfectly. Now, if the power plant is established the natural balance of the entire area will be at risk and so the production of shrimps,’ said one businessman.
Asked about the risk of shrimp culture because of the power plant, fisheries experts said there were some points of concern on the issue.

‘Any plant can harm the natural environment if the waste disposal measures are not accurate. In this case, I don’t know the measurements precisely, so it is difficult to comment,’ Dhaka University fisheries department associate professor Md Mamun Chowdhury told New Age.
‘For example, the power plant intakes huge amount of water. When those are discharged after use, the temperature rises than usual. If the plant cannot manage to release water in regular temperature then it could possibly becomes an issue of concern,’ he said.

Another DU professor unwilling to be named, said that the Rampal power plant will definitely affect the fisheries of the entire area. ‘There is no chance of avoiding the pollution of the area if the power plant comes into function. The natural balance of the entire Sundarbans will be at risk,’ he said.

In the first month of the current financial year 2013–14, overall shrimp export increased by 33.91 per cent from that of July 2012, according to Export Promotion Bureau data.Shrimp exporters also exceeded export target by 33.40 per cent in July as they exported shrimp worth $56.55 million against the target of $42.23 million for the month, the data showed. In the last FY, shrimp export fell short of around $90 million because of price fluctuation on the international market, exporters said. Bangladesh exported shrimp worth $454.43 million against the target
of 545.23 million for the year.

Bangladeshi businessmen recently became hopeful about the industry after the US imposed additional duties on Bangladesh’s competitor countries.

Rampal plant feared to hamper shrimp industry