Rampal plant yet to get environment clearance

Minister tells parliament

The much-talked-about Rampal coal-fired power plant near the Sundarbans is yet to get environmental clearance from the Department of Environment (DoE), Anwar Hossain Manju, forest and environment minister, informed Parliament yesterday. Replying to the lawmakers’ query, the environment minister, however, said the environment impact assessment report (EIA) of the Rampal project has been approved after imposing some necessary conditions. “If mitigation measures are implemented properly, as proposed by the EIA report, then there is no possibility of damaging the Sundarbans,” he said. Talking to The Independent, Nasrul Hamid Bipu, state minister for power, energy, and mineral resources said the environment minister’s statement about the Rampal plant is not clear. Nasrul pointed out that the environment minister told Parliament that the Rampal plant is yet to get environmental clearance, but also said that the EIA has been approved with some conditions.
“You should clear up this confusion with him. I have no comment on this,” said Nasrul. Ujjwal Bhattacharya, managing director of Bangladesh India Friendship Power Company Limited (BIFPCL), said that there is no such thing as environmental clearance in Bangladesh.
“For a project like Rampal, the DoE of the Bangladesh government issues a no-objection certificate (NOC) against the EIA. We have that NOC,” he said. “This means there is no environmental restriction in implementing the project,” he added. Sayed Nazmul Hasan, director of DoE, told The Independent that there is indeed an environmental clearance certificate, which has not yet been issued to the Rampal power plant. “We have issued NOC against the EIA for Rampal. On the basis of this NOC, the construction and other project work can begin. But before the commissioning and electricity production of the plant, the plant authority has to take an environmental clearance certificate from us.” He said the environmental clearance certificate would be issued after observing the plant’s progress. Talking to The Independent over telephone yesterday afternoon, Anwar Hossain Manju clarified that he said the plant was yet to get environmental clearance. “Getting an environmental clearance and getting an NOC against EIA is not the same thing. Without environmental clearance, they cannot start the operations of the plant,” he said.

Rampal plant yet to get environment clearance

Minister tells parliament

The much-talked-about Rampal coal-fired power plant near the Sundarbans is yet to get environmental clearance from the Department of Environment (DoE), Anwar Hossain Manju, forest and environment minister, informed Parliament yesterday. Replying to the lawmakers query, the environment minister, however, said the environment impact assessment report (EIA) of the Rampal project has been approved after imposing some necessary conditions. If mitigation measures are implemented properly, as proposed by the EIA report, then there is no possibility of damaging the Sundarbans, he said. Talking to The Independent, Nasrul Hamid Bipu, state minister for power, energy, and mineral resources said the environment ministers statement about the Rampal plant is not clear. Nasrul pointed out that the environment minister told Parliament that the Rampal plant is yet to get environmental clearance, but also said that the EIA has been approved with some conditions. You should clear up this confusion with him. I have no comment on this, said Nasrul. Ujjwal Bhattacharya, managing director of Bangladesh India Friendship Power Company Limited (BIFPCL), said that there is no such thing as environmental clearance in Bangladesh. For a project like Rampal, the DoE of the Bangladesh government issues a no-objection certificate (NOC) against the EIA. We have that NOC, he said. This means there is no environmental restriction in implementing the project, he added. Sayed Nazmul Hasan, director of DoE, told The Independent that there is indeed an environmental clearance certificate, which has not yet been issued to the Rampal power plant. We have issued NOC against the EIA for Rampal. On the basis of this NOC, the construction and other project work can begin. But before the commissioning and electricity production of the plant, the plant authority has to take an environmental clearance certificate from us. He said the environmental clearance certificate would be issued after observing the plants progress. Talking to The Independent over telephone yesterday afternoon, Anwar Hossain Manju clarified that he said the plant was yet to get environmental clearance. Getting an environmental clearance and getting an NOC against EIA is not the same thing. Without environmental clearance, they cannot start the operations of the plant, he said.