Nasrul Hamid says environment department will answer UNESCO concerns on Rampal

The State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, Nasrul Hamid Bipu has said that the Department of Environment will respond to UNESCO, which has expressed its concern over the environmental impact of the Rampal thermo-electric plant on the Sundarbans.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 24 Sept 2016, 07:06 PM
Updated : 24 Sept 2016, 07:06 PM

He was responding to a question by bdnews24.com after participating at an event in Dhaka on the issue on Saturday.

The Maitree Super Thermal Power Project is a joint venture by India and Bangladesh and will come up at Rampal near the Sundarbans.

The deltaic region has been declared a World Heritage Site by the UN body.

Although many civic and environmental organisations have voiced their opposition to the project, the government has been trying to allay their fears through maintaining that the project would have no ill effects on the delicate ecosystem of the Sundarbans.

Amidst all this, a section of the media have reported that UNESCO has written to the Bangladesh government, urging it that the project be scrapped.

The minister said that an appropriate reply would be given to UNESCO.

Asked if the government was mulling dropping the project, he said that he had no such information.