The High Court yesterday cleared the way for the government to construct the controversial Rampal power plant in Bagerhat, despite green groups’ protest at the project’s possible disastrous impact on the Sundarbans. The court summarily rejected a writ petition that sought its directives on the government to stop the construction of coal-fired power plant until an assessment on the project’s environmental impact was done.
The HC clearance comes a day after the foundation plaque of the power plant was unveiled on Saturday.
Attorney General Mahbubey Alam told The Daily Star that there is no legal bar to constructing the plant at Rampal following the HC order.
The HC has rejected the petition as it “did not have any substantial merit” and the petitioners had no jurisdiction to move such petition, he added.
On September 29, four Supreme Court (SC) lawyers filed the petition with the HC to maintain status quo on the project’s construction until the assessment was done by forming a committee of local and international experts.
Asaduzzaman Siddiqui, Md Aklas Uddin Bhuiyan, Mahbubul Islam and Sayeda Shaheen Ara Laily filed the petition as public interest litigation in their appeal.
They prayed to the court to issue a rule upon the government to set up the power plant in an environment friendly area in the country.
The petitioners also sought the court’s intervention in taking necessary steps for protecting the environment and lives of locals and preserving the biodiversity of the Sundarbans.
In the petition, they said the government had reportedly permitted the Power Development Board to construct the plant near the Sundarbans without conducting an environmental impact assessment properly.
The Sundarbans is the largest mangrove forest in the world, and its environment might be damaged, if the power plant is constructed in the area, the petition added.
Yesterday, the HC bench of Justice M Moazzam Husain and Justice Md Badruzzaman passed the order after holding a hearing on the petition.
Petitioners’ counsel Manzill Murshid told this correspondent that his client would move an appeal before the SC challenging the HC’s rejection order.
On Saturday, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh unveiled the foundation plaque for the power plant amid growing public concern that the coal-fired plant, only 14 km off the Sundarbans, may bring on a disaster for the forest.
-With The Daily Star input
