Rampal Power Project
Plant to use saline water
Green campaigners still concerned
Taking into account concerns of environmentalists, the proposed massive 1320 megawatt coal power plant in Rampal close to the Sundarbans will use surface water from the Passur river so that the project does not affect underground water table.
The water after use will be recycled through a closed cycle cooling system to avoid any harm to the ecology.
Excessive use of groundwater at the Barapukuria power plant in north Bengal has caused underground water tables to dry up, wrecking havoc on people of adjacent villages.
Besides, environmentalists like Bangladesh Environment Lawyers Association and Bangladesh Poribesh Bachao Andolon have also expressed concern over the use of underground water at the Rampal power project.
The Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) of the Indo-Bangla joint venture power plant recommends installing a central effluent treatment plant at the project site to treat the saline water of the Passur river before use and then recycle it through the cooling system.
Abdul Matin, secretary general of Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon, said the EIA report had been prepared incorporating false information.
“Initially, they said they would use groundwater at the plant. But later they cancelled the idea due to criticism by environmentalists.”
Matin, also secretary general of the citizen committee to protect the Sundarbans, is critical of the project.
“It is hard to keep faith in government’s assurances regarding development projects. Initially, they commit so many good things but later, they do not implement those.
“It is the government’s style to implement a certain project,” Matin noted.
The Centre for Environment and Geographic Information Services (Cegis) prepared the report after consulting all — from critics to grassroots people at Rampal. The Department of Environment approved it in early August. The Cegis believes that it addressed almost all concerns, including those linked with the use of water.
Matin is critical of the use of Passur’s water too.
“They did not mention how much water they would extract from the river and how much they would return to it. The water flow is being reduced in the Passur river. If the power plant uses huge amount of water for next 50 years, it will have a negative impact on the river.”
However, the EIA report says the power plant will intake about 9,150 m3/hr (cubic meters per hour) and discharge about 5,150 m3/hr. Hence, no thermal plume shall be discharged to the river.
The required water can easily be taken from the Passur, which is only 1% of the river’s lowest ebb tide. Therefore, it will cause no significant impact on aquatic flora and fauna, according to the report.
A project official explained that the plant site would be surrounded by a green belt and the recycled water will be used there. Underground water will be used only for consumption by the staff and residents at the plant site.
If water is discharged to the river, it will have to be at ambient temperature as per the environment standard. Thus it will not have any major impact on the surface water.
The project also suggests a rain water harvesting system to meet domestic and other purposes.
The proposed project will have certain adverse impacts on the fish habitats in the area due to the direct alteration of physical setup of habitats. Minor impact on fish may be noticed only during the dredging activities.
The proposed coal-based thermal power plant will be of two units (2×660 MW) of supercritical pulverized coal boiler type with another extension of 1,320 MW in future.
It also includes residential and social facilities, water treatment plant, sub-station, jetty, coal handling system and coal silo, ash handling and disposal facilities, and switchyard, including substation.
The project area spreads over 1834 acres of land, all of which has been acquired. To acquire this land, the government gave 1,538 individuals around Tk 62.5 crore in compensation.
“In the first phase of the project, we need 600 acres of land. This area is currently being elevated to minimise impact of environmental hazards (like tidal surges). The remaining land will be developed later,” the project official said.
-With The Daily Star input
