Indian plot to deprive Dhaka of carbon compensation
India inked Rampal deal to avert carbon compensation to Bangladesh, Rampal power plant to spell doom for Sundarbans, India to reap benefits of coal-based plant while Bangladesh to face devastation, loss of biodiversity and also carbon trade right as polluter.
Dhaka: The government has decided to set up coal-based Rampal Power Plant at the vicinity of the worlds largest mangrove forest and also home to the Bengal Tigers ignoring the national interest and ecological disaster the country would face only to keep warm ties with India intact.
Environmentalists and ecology experts topped their voice against the project as it would not just destroy the countrys Sundarbans but also project Bangladesh to the world as a polluting nation forcing it to sacrifice its right as a carbon trading nation having a huge sink of carbon reserve.
The government has already started the power plant project work there which would spell doom for the Sundarbans and its remaining critically endangered tiger population, said experts terming the power plant as suicidal for the country and its national interest.
Project to serve extreme Indian interest at the cost of Bangladeshs destruction
The government has given go ahead to the joint venture power project only to serve the purpose of the neighbpouring India for the sake of relations and India is capitalizing on the close ties with the Awami League-led grand alliance government. India is maximizing the economic benefit from the power project as it always do with its small neighbours by forcing them to sacrifice their national interest for the big brother, experts said.
Being an extremely nationalist state, India has always been busy with its own national interest and put pressure on Bangladesh to serve its interest without considering the harmful effect of the power plant which is being set up at the vicinity of the Sundarbans, the great wonder of nature and also forest lifeline of Bangladesh, said environmentalists and experts on biodiversity who are extremely worried about the devastation Bangladesh would face due to the power plant.
India plots to avert climate compensation
But the plant would also help India in escaping the huge compensation it would have to pay as polluters to Last Developed counties like Bangladesh by showing it as polluters too sacrificing the right of carbon trading. It is part of a deep rooted conspiracies the so called friend of Bangladesh has been hatching for long and finally persuaded the Awami League-led subservient government to commit suicide for serving the purpose of big brother India, said a leading environmentalist and ecology expert on condition of anonymity fearing reprisal of AL cadres who often go physical against dissents and dissidents.
The environmentalist said the Sundarbans is seventh greatest wonder as the globes largest mangrove forest, but instead of protecting the natural wonder the AL-led Bangladesh government is playing the role of predator instead of protector for destroying the forest only to make way for India to avert payment of the huge compensation as polluters while the regime is happy to serve the purpose of their masters in Delhi.
The extremely tactful India had already persuaded AL-led government to make the supreme sacrifice and Bangladesh would lose its righteous position to claim its due compensation from India as the most vulnerable nation in the global warming front.
Duffers in govt fail to assess the impacts in carbon trading
The ecology and biodiversity experts said, already Bangladesh as the frontier nation of global warming has started feeling the pinch of climate change only due to heavy industrialisation of India. So Bangladesh deserves the right to claim huge compensation from India for the damage it had already done to its small neighbor.
But if Bangladesh implements such a big carbon-emitting coal-based power plant then the nation would be treated as polluters too losing that right to claim compensation.
But the duffers in the AL-led government without taking into consideration the carbon trade and compensation issue had already signed three accord with India sacrificing the Sundarbans and its reserve carbon sink rights necessary for realizing compensation, said the experts voicing anguish at the governments suicidal decision.
In all the three accords Bangladeshs national interest was extremely compromised and India gained unilaterally preserving all its interests served at the cost of Bangladeshs destruction it would face in near future if the project is implemented.
Country to face ecological imbalance and diversity
Not just financial loss, if the project is implemented the Sundarbans will face dooms and its unique flora and fauna and animal species will lose habitat and their living conditions while the whole region, including Khulna, Bagerhat and Satkhira districts would lose ecological balance and face disaster. Arable land in the region would lose fertility and will face the worst impact of global warming, said the experts preferring anonymity.
On ecological disaster Bangladesh would face due to construction of the Rampal power plant, chairman of Bangladesh Pribesh Andolan Abu Nser Khan told Daily Prime News, The developed countries have set up a fund for mitigating the worst impact of global warming to compensate the victims of climate change. Bangladesh as the worst victims deserves the right to receive compensation from the climate fund. But if the government goes ahead with polluting project like Rampal then it would be suicidal and the coutry would lose the right to claim compensation from India and other developed countries responsible for huge carbon emission. And Bangladesh would not just suffer financial loss, but also face ecological disaster and destruction of the Sundarbans and its biodiversity.
Looming Ecological Disaster
The Rampal Power Plant would burn around 47.20 lakh tonnes of coal a year and produce 7.50 lakh tones of flyask and two lakh tones of bottom ashes. The fly ash, bottom ash and liquefied ash produced by the power plant would spell doom for the environment and ecology. As all those ashes contains solid metals like arsenic, mercury, lead, nickel, vanadium, beryllium, barium, cadmium, chromium, selenium and radium. And all the ashes would get mixed up with the air and just turn the air toxic enough for annihilation of plants varieties and animal species of the Sundarbans and its adjoining areas.
On the other hand the government is planning to fill a portion of 1414 acres of land out of the project on 1834 acres. These toxic ashes will get mixed up with rain water and finally intoxicate the soil, subsoil and also the underground water tables and the affect will not only be limited to the project area, but destroy the whole region.
Moreover, the coal for the power plant will have to carry from Mongla to Hiron Point through an area of 97 kilometres which will in fact pollute the waters which was acknowledged by even a government report. During coal carrying by ships, the wave of rivers would intensify erosion, and lights and movement of ship would greatly endanger the affect the invaluable life of rare species of animals.
Pointing to the disastrous effects of Rampal power plant, member secretary of the National Committee for Protection of Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources and Power Prof Anu Mohammad said, If the Rampal power plant is installed its disastrous effect would destroy our environment and ecology. It would also destroy the worlds largest mangrove forest and the power plant in no way would be allowed to cause destruction of the Sundarbans.
Anu Mohammad also said, Khulna and Agriculture University environmental activists through a study showed the extent of disastrous effects of the project on the Sundarbas.
He also said, Experts said right now the Sundarbans air contains around 30 microgram of toxic sulphar and nitrogen per cubic meter. After construction of the plant it would shoot up to 53.4 microgram and threaten the vary existence of the Sundarbans. So the power plant would bring disaster than anything good or beneficial.
Bangladesh Poribesh Andolan secretary Architect Iqbal Habib told the Daily Prime News, Before conducting the Environmental Impact Assessment, the government had forcibly acquired the land evicting their owners by police.
During winter the winds blow exactly the opposite direction, and then the toxic ashes and smoke would cover the Sundarbans and destroy it as the plant is just 10 kilometres away, said Iqbal.
There is a writ petition pending with the High Court over the power plant and by signing three accords with extreme nationalist India, the government has violated the law of the land, he added.
Subservient, duffer govt just blows away all allegations
The subservient and duffer government high-ups have rejected the notion of environmental disaster and destruction of the Sundarbans and said the joint venture power project would not do any harm to the nation and its ecology. The Rampal power project site is 14 kilometres away from the Sundarbans and the power plant chimney would be as high as 275 metre and its mouth would be facing opposite to the Sundarbans. So ashes and smoke of the plant would not cause any harm to the Sundarbans, said the government high-ups defending the power plant.
More often at least three to four low or depressions are created in the Bay of Bengal so it would take the smoke and ashes towards the Himalayas. The plant would also use super critical technology, which do not create smoke. So it would consume less coal for power generation and do less harm to environment and it would not have any disastrous effect on the Sundarbas. Moreover a high-level committee would monitor the plants effect on environment. But in reality during winter the wind blows exactly the opposite direction and it would fly away all the ashes and smoke towards the Sundarbans withering away the existence of the mangrove forest and its flora and fauna.
But former director of Power Cell BD Rahmatullah said, Whatever technology might be used, Rampal power plant would do more harm and it could in no way lessen the environmental disasters the country and the Sundarbans would face. The government is out to implement the power plant project through its autocratic attitude. Only criminalized politics making it possible for the government to go for implement such a worst disastrous project for the country only to appease India. Not just the government, even the opposition BNP has not waged any protest against the harmful power project and did not say that if voted to power it would scrap the power plant project which would only serve Indian interest all the way.
High price for power generation
Even production cost of electricity would be much higher than other power projects. Even the government did not make it clear about the coal import issue from India and also about the high power generation costs. Even the AL led government in its election manifesto said it would make best use of the locally produced coal, but it would not be reflected in Rampal Power plant case, said experts.
The power experts said, The way the government is proceeding towards implementation of the project it would destroy the Sundarbans, and bring disaster to countrys environment and ecology along with financial loss.
India tactically keeping its ownership
The joint venture power plant is being implemented by National Thermal Power Company of India (NTPC) and Bangladesh Power Development Board (PDB) at a cost of Tk 13,200 crore. Of the total cost, PDB and NTPC would invest 30 percent (Tk 3,960 crore) and NTPC would arrange the rest 70 percent of the cost (Tk 9,240 crore) by securing loans from donor agencies and banks. So in reality the NTPC would hold 85 percent share of the power plant while PDB only 15 percent.
NTPC cold not secure power project in its own country
The NTPC has failed to secure Indian Green Panels approval for its 1320MW power plant project on environmental concern. The Hindu in its October 8, 2010 report said, NTPC coal-based power project cancelled Madhya Pradesh. The report says the proposed power plant was in arable land in populated area and it might cause harm to the peoples life and livelihood. So it cannot proceed and cancelled the 1320MW power plant project of NTPC.
Controversial Rampal power plant accord
Bangladesh and India inked three accords for setting up a 1320MW capacity Rampal Power Plant on April 20 this year. The accords are Joint venture accord, implementation accord and power purchase accord.
In 2011 a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between India and Bangladesh during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinas New Delhi trip in which power generation cooperation issue was there in it. And PDB inked an accord with NTPC in 2012 following that MoU.
At the accord signing ceremony, Power secretary Monowar Islam said, The Rampal power project has been taken up considering the environment pollution and damage issue critically. As per the power generation roadmap the government has a plan to generate at least 20,000MW of electricity by the year 2030. The Rampal power project is part of that plan.
Chairman of NTPC Arup Roy Chowdhury said, This project is the biggest one by his company outside India. So it is very important for NTPC to implement it with care.
The project would be implemented by the year 2018 and a company styled Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company has already been formed with representatives of both the nations for implementing the project.
See more at:
Indian plot to deprive Dhaka of carbon compensation
India inked Rampal deal to avert carbon compensation to Bangladesh, Rampal power plant to spell doom for Sundarbans, India to reap benefits of coal-based plant while Bangladesh to face devastation, loss of biodiversity and also carbon trade right as polluter.
Dhaka: The government has decided to set up coal-based Rampal Power Plant at the vicinity of the worlds largest mangrove forest and also home to the Bengal Tigers ignoring the national interest and ecological disaster the country would face only to keep warm ties with India intact.
Environmentalists and ecology experts topped their voice against the project as it would not just destroy the countrys Sundarbans but also project Bangladesh to the world as a polluting nation forcing it to sacrifice its right as a carbon trading nation having a huge sink of carbon reserve.
The government has already started the power plant project work there which would spell doom for the Sundarbans and its remaining critically endangered tiger population, said experts terming the power plant as suicidal for the country and its national interest.
Project to serve extreme Indian interest at the cost of Bangladeshs destruction
The government has given go ahead to the joint venture power project only to serve the purpose of the neighbpouring India for the sake of relations and India is capitalizing on the close ties with the Awami League-led grand alliance government. India is maximizing the economic benefit from the power project as it always do with its small neighbours by forcing them to sacrifice their national interest for the big brother, experts said.
Being an extremely nationalist state, India has always been busy with its own national interest and put pressure on Bangladesh to serve its interest without considering the harmful effect of the power plant which is being set up at the vicinity of the Sundarbans, the great wonder of nature and also forest lifeline of Bangladesh, said environmentalists and experts on biodiversity who are extremely worried about the devastation Bangladesh would face due to the power plant.
India plots to avert climate compensation
But the plant would also help India in escaping the huge compensation it would have to pay as polluters to Last Developed counties like Bangladesh by showing it as polluters too sacrificing the right of carbon trading. It is part of a deep rooted conspiracies the so called friend of Bangladesh has been hatching for long and finally persuaded the Awami League-led subservient government to commit suicide for serving the purpose of big brother India, said a leading environmentalist and ecology expert on condition of anonymity fearing reprisal of AL cadres who often go physical against dissents and dissidents.
The environmentalist said the Sundarbans is seventh greatest wonder as the globes largest mangrove forest, but instead of protecting the natural wonder the AL-led Bangladesh government is playing the role of predator instead of protector for destroying the forest only to make way for India to avert payment of the huge compensation as polluters while the regime is happy to serve the purpose of their masters in Delhi.
The extremely tactful India had already persuaded AL-led government to make the supreme sacrifice and Bangladesh would lose its righteous position to claim its due compensation from India as the most vulnerable nation in the global warming front.
Duffers in govt fail to assess the impacts in carbon trading
The ecology and biodiversity experts said, already Bangladesh as the frontier nation of global warming has started feeling the pinch of climate change only due to heavy industrialisation of India. So Bangladesh deserves the right to claim huge compensation from India for the damage it had already done to its small neighbor.
But if Bangladesh implements such a big carbon-emitting coal-based power plant then the nation would be treated as polluters too losing that right to claim compensation.
But the duffers in the AL-led government without taking into consideration the carbon trade and compensation issue had already signed three accord with India sacrificing the Sundarbans and its reserve carbon sink rights necessary for realizing compensation, said the experts voicing anguish at the governments suicidal decision.
In all the three accords Bangladeshs national interest was extremely compromised and India gained unilaterally preserving all its interests served at the cost of Bangladeshs destruction it would face in near future if the project is implemented.
Country to face ecological imbalance and diversity
Not just financial loss, if the project is implemented the Sundarbans will face dooms and its unique flora and fauna and animal species will lose habitat and their living conditions while the whole region, including Khulna, Bagerhat and Satkhira districts would lose ecological balance and face disaster. Arable land in the region would lose fertility and will face the worst impact of global warming, said the experts preferring anonymity.
On ecological disaster Bangladesh would face due to construction of the Rampal power plant, chairman of Bangladesh Pribesh Andolan Abu Nser Khan told Daily Prime News, The developed countries have set up a fund for mitigating the worst impact of global warming to compensate the victims of climate change. Bangladesh as the worst victims deserves the right to receive compensation from the climate fund. But if the government goes ahead with polluting project like Rampal then it would be suicidal and the coutry would lose the right to claim compensation from India and other developed countries responsible for huge carbon emission. And Bangladesh would not just suffer financial loss, but also face ecological disaster and destruction of the Sundarbans and its biodiversity.
Looming Ecological Disaster
The Rampal Power Plant would burn around 47.20 lakh tonnes of coal a year and produce 7.50 lakh tones of flyask and two lakh tones of bottom ashes. The fly ash, bottom ash and liquefied ash produced by the power plant would spell doom for the environment and ecology. As all those ashes contains solid metals like arsenic, mercury, lead, nickel, vanadium, beryllium, barium, cadmium, chromium, selenium and radium. And all the ashes would get mixed up with the air and just turn the air toxic enough for annihilation of plants varieties and animal species of the Sundarbans and its adjoining areas.
On the other hand the government is planning to fill a portion of 1414 acres of land out of the project on 1834 acres. These toxic ashes will get mixed up with rain water and finally intoxicate the soil, subsoil and also the underground water tables and the affect will not only be limited to the project area, but destroy the whole region.
Moreover, the coal for the power plant will have to carry from Mongla to Hiron Point through an area of 97 kilometres which will in fact pollute the waters which was acknowledged by even a government report. During coal carrying by ships, the wave of rivers would intensify erosion, and lights and movement of ship would greatly endanger the affect the invaluable life of rare species of animals.
Pointing to the disastrous effects of Rampal power plant, member secretary of the National Committee for Protection of Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources and Power Prof Anu Mohammad said, If the Rampal power plant is installed its disastrous effect would destroy our environment and ecology. It would also destroy the worlds largest mangrove forest and the power plant in no way would be allowed to cause destruction of the Sundarbans.
Anu Mohammad also said, Khulna and Agriculture University environmental activists through a study showed the extent of disastrous effects of the project on the Sundarbas.
He also said, Experts said right now the Sundarbans air contains around 30 microgram of toxic sulphar and nitrogen per cubic meter. After construction of the plant it would shoot up to 53.4 microgram and threaten the vary existence of the Sundarbans. So the power plant would bring disaster than anything good or beneficial.
Bangladesh Poribesh Andolan secretary Architect Iqbal Habib told the Daily Prime News, Before conducting the Environmental Impact Assessment, the government had forcibly acquired the land evicting their owners by police.
During winter the winds blow exactly the opposite direction, and then the toxic ashes and smoke would cover the Sundarbans and destroy it as the plant is just 10 kilometres away, said Iqbal.
There is a writ petition pending with the High Court over the power plant and by signing three accords with extreme nationalist India, the government has violated the law of the land, he added.
Subservient, duffer govt just blows away all allegations
The subservient and duffer government high-ups have rejected the notion of environmental disaster and destruction of the Sundarbans and said the joint venture power project would not do any harm to the nation and its ecology. The Rampal power project site is 14 kilometres away from the Sundarbans and the power plant chimney would be as high as 275 metre and its mouth would be facing opposite to the Sundarbans. So ashes and smoke of the plant would not cause any harm to the Sundarbans, said the government high-ups defending the power plant.
More often at least three to four low or depressions are created in the Bay of Bengal so it would take the smoke and ashes towards the Himalayas. The plant would also use super critical technology, which do not create smoke. So it would consume less coal for power generation and do less harm to environment and it would not have any disastrous effect on the Sundarbas. Moreover a high-level committee would monitor the plants effect on environment. But in reality during winter the wind blows exactly the opposite direction and it would fly away all the ashes and smoke towards the Sundarbans withering away the existence of the mangrove forest and its flora and fauna.
But former director of Power Cell BD Rahmatullah said, Whatever technology might be used, Rampal power plant would do more harm and it could in no way lessen the environmental disasters the country and the Sundarbans would face. The government is out to implement the power plant project through its autocratic attitude. Only criminalized politics making it possible for the government to go for implement such a worst disastrous project for the country only to appease India. Not just the government, even the opposition BNP has not waged any protest against the harmful power project and did not say that if voted to power it would scrap the power plant project which would only serve Indian interest all the way.
High price for power generation
Even production cost of electricity would be much higher than other power projects. Even the government did not make it clear about the coal import issue from India and also about the high power generation costs. Even the AL led government in its election manifesto said it would make best use of the locally produced coal, but it would not be reflected in Rampal Power plant case, said experts.
The power experts said, The way the government is proceeding towards implementation of the project it would destroy the Sundarbans, and bring disaster to countrys environment and ecology along with financial loss.
India tactically keeping its ownership
The joint venture power plant is being implemented by National Thermal Power Company of India (NTPC) and Bangladesh Power Development Board (PDB) at a cost of Tk 13,200 crore. Of the total cost, PDB and NTPC would invest 30 percent (Tk 3,960 crore) and NTPC would arrange the rest 70 percent of the cost (Tk 9,240 crore) by securing loans from donor agencies and banks. So in reality the NTPC would hold 85 percent share of the power plant while PDB only 15 percent.
NTPC cold not secure power project in its own country
The NTPC has failed to secure Indian Green Panels approval for its 1320MW power plant project on environmental concern. The Hindu in its October 8, 2010 report said, NTPC coal-based power project cancelled Madhya Pradesh. The report says the proposed power plant was in arable land in populated area and it might cause harm to the peoples life and livelihood. So it cannot proceed and cancelled the 1320MW power plant project of NTPC.
Controversial Rampal power plant accord
Bangladesh and India inked three accords for setting up a 1320MW capacity Rampal Power Plant on April 20 this year. The accords are Joint venture accord, implementation accord and power purchase accord.
In 2011 a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between India and Bangladesh during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinas New Delhi trip in which power generation cooperation issue was there in it. And PDB inked an accord with NTPC in 2012 following that MoU.
At the accord signing ceremony, Power secretary Monowar Islam said, The Rampal power project has been taken up considering the environment pollution and damage issue critically. As per the power generation roadmap the government has a plan to generate at least 20,000MW of electricity by the year 2030. The Rampal power project is part of that plan.
Chairman of NTPC Arup Roy Chowdhury said, This project is the biggest one by his company outside India. So it is very important for NTPC to implement it with care.
The project would be implemented by the year 2018 and a company styled Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company has already been formed with representatives of both the nations for implementing the project.
See more at:
Indian plot to deprive Dhaka of carbon compensation
