Power plant at Rampal in the context of Environment Conservation Act

Talukdar Rasel Mahmud The entire nation is proud of the Sundarbans which is the biggest mangrove forest in the world. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. It also contested as one of the finalists in the New 7 Wonders of Nature in the world. The Sunderbans is now in its mortal danger as the government has decided to construct a coal-based power plant at Rampal. Although the authorities argue that the power plant will be constructed using modern technology for minimising ill-effects on the Sundarbans, none can say for sure that the forest will not be affected. The local people and environmentalists have been protesting against the project from the very beginning. Bangladesh has a legal mechanism for protecting environment in greater public interest. The Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act, 1995 provides provisions relating to the protection of the environment. Section-2 of the Act defines environment pollutant as any solid, liquid or gaseous substance which causes harm to the environment. It also includes heat, sound, radiation and hazardous substance such as the chemical or biochemical properties, the manufacture, storage, discharge or unregulated transportation of which can be harmful to the environment. Dr Abdullah Harun, Professor of Environmental Science at the Khulna University, has prepared a report on the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and found that nearly 220 tonnes of different toxic gases will be emitted daily from the proposed Rampal power plant. On the other hand, the authorities claim that they will make, using higher technology, proper treatment of toxic gas before emission. But, according to environmentalists, it will be hardly of any use to protect the Sundarbans. So, these toxic elements can be considered as environment pollutant and hazardous substance under Section-2 of the Environment Conservation Act, 1995. The coal-carrying ships through the forest will emit toxic materials, which are also restricted by Section-6 of the Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act, 1995. The Conservation Act defines ecosystem as a balanced complex association of all components of the environment supporting and influencing the conservation and growth of all organisms. Thus the construction of a power plant at Rampal will greatly injure the ecosystem due to traffic movements, oil and chemical spilling and dredging. The power plant will be constructed for producing electricity for the betterment of the country, but the dangerous effects on environment will lead to a catastrophe. Safety of the people is the supreme law and construction of the Rampal power plant near the Sundarbans will endanger the safety of south-western people living near the forest by destroying the ecosystem. So, construction of the power plant near the mangrove forest is against the greater public interest. In City Sugar Industries Ltd. And others Vs. Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh and others case, 2010, Justice Md. Abdul Matin observed that public interest lies in protecting the rivers from encroachments and pollution by all means and suggested that the safety of the people should be the supreme law. The Rampal project will use deep tube wells and the Posur river for washing coal which will push ground water level down and completely destroy the ecosystem of the Posur river. The EIA report prepared by Dr. Abdullah Harun shows that the project will draw around 25,000 cubic metres of water every day which is really a threat to the environment. The Sundarbans plays an important role in the economy of the south-western region of Bangladesh and thus it contributes to the national economic development. It provides raw materials for wood-based industries, timber, firewood, pulpwood, thatching materials, honey, bees-wax, fish, crustacean and many more. This writer is not against the project but strongly opposes the place where the project will be located. The plant can be relocated to any other place far from the Sundarbans. Unfortunately, the authorities will violate the Environment Conservation Act, 1995 by going ahead with the coal-based power plant project at Rampal. The writer is a Research Assistant at the Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs (BILIA). [email protected]