Rampal power plant built without public consent: Environment Adviser

Syeda Rizwana Hasan, adviser to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, has said that the Rampal Power Plant, established during the tenure of the previous government, was built without public consent. She alleged that the government even pressured the Forest Ministry to release forest land for the project.

Expressing astonishment, she said, “Is this democracy? Have we lost the right to say no?”

She made these remarks on Sunday morning, October 5, while speaking at the Regional Infrastructure Monitoring Alliance Conference at Hotel Lake Castle in the capital’s Gulshan.

The adviser stated that over the past decade, the burden of loans, inflation and misguided investments was imposed on the public and never corrected. Without engaging in public consultation, foreign investments were allowed that placed the country’s security, environment and forests in uncertainty.

Rizwana Hasan stressed the need for a strong institutional framework that equally prioritises the environment, people’s rights and accountability. “We want development, but not unconditionally,” she said.

“We need electricity, but not at the cost of environmental destruction. We want investment, but with respect for our voice. Today Bangladesh stands at a crossroads. We want a transformative agenda with people at the centre. Otherwise, this development will be one-sided and self-serving,” she added.

She further remarked, “To me, investment is not merely about money—it is about access to power, or determining who will hold power. For those outside power, this development means fear and uncertainty.”