Deucha project may face Bangladesh like setback with squeezing of foreign funds

Yesterday in Bangladesh; tomorrow may be in West Bengal.

The proposed Deucha-Pachami-Dewanganj-Harinsingha (DPDH) coal mine project in Birbhum district of the state West Bengal government may have the same fate that a slew of coal-based projects in Bangladesh had in the recent past; warned experts.

Bangladesh, last June, scrapped 10 coal-fired power plants that were cleared earlier. While environmental and health impacts of the projects were deemed to be the official reason behind the scrapping; several experts pointed out that the squeezing of the international funding and support behind coal-based projects was the actual trigger.

“Apart from the obvious environmental consideration, economic fallout may also impact Deucha Pachami project as it may go the way Bangladesh coal-based projects had gone, as international support for such projects is dwindling quickly on climatic grounds,” said Harjeet Singh, a senior advisor of Climate Action Network International to The Plurals.

Singh reminded that several coal-based projects, including few in India, are in process of being shelved off before their scheduled deadline. As a matter of fact, according to sources, the union power ministry has recently formed an expert committee mandated to consider a proposal to stop installation of new coal-based power units as the country sets out to chalk a plan to meet commitments made at COP26.

“While Bangladesh, being in the chair for Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF), referred the climatic and environmental issues as the reason for backing off; actual reason is drying of the funds from developed countries in coal-based project” said Sanjay Vashist, director of non-profit Climate Action Network South Asia (CANSA).

Experts point out that the getting support for Deucha project may become even more difficult when it will be commissioned and start working; which is 2026-27, at the earliest. “We expect more stringent restriction on coal-based industry and market in coming years” stated a climate expert.

Kamruzzaman Majumder, an air pollution expert and environment science professor at Stamford University in Bangladesh, told The Plurals. that “West Bengal may take a cue from Bangladesh experience as our country lost lot of money after scrapping of the projects due to the investment made in procuring land and creating logistics before the environmental clearances were obtained”.

The West Bengal government, similarly, has started to invest in land procurement and logistics creation in the Deucha project with chief minister Mamata Banerjee announcing INR 10000 crores for compensation and overall investment around INR 35000 crores.

The compensation was announced to blunt the opposition to the project, touted to be the second biggest coal reserve in the world, as it has become a flashpoint for a range of reasons with its possible immediate and long-term environmental impacts being a major one.

While political parties and outfits have been trying to drum up support and milk advantages, both for and against the project, green activists are crying foul that the government is going ahead with the project without assessing its possible environmental and health impacts and putting up safeguards in place.

A senior official in the state environment department confirmed to The Plurals. that the project is yet to start the procedure of obtaining mandatory clearance from the union government. “We have not heard anything about the environmental clearance part … perhaps the government is first trying to ensure local logistics and acceptance,” said the official.

“It’s a major mineral project, falls in ‘A’ category and hence needs clearance from the union ministry of environment, forest and climate change”, shared the official. Though the clearance application is to be submitted to union government, it is expected that the proponent agency – Bengal Birbhum Coalfields Limited, an unlisted public company classified as a ‘State government company’ – will take the green department and West Bengal Pollution Control Board into confidence before progressing for green clearance; that may take at least close to an year after initial application is submitted.

A senior official on behalf of the project proponent told to The Plurals. on Wednesday that it may take close to two years to know whether the project would actually be viable or not; and then the question about obtaining environment clearance is likely to come up.

In the meantime, Sabuj Mancha, a green platform, has shot a letter to chief minister Mamata Banerjee raising specific questions about the possible environmental impacts of the proposed project, including impacts on air, surface and groundwater, forest and trees, biodiversity and likewise.

“…There is no information or data being available in the public domain yet about the possible impacts of the proposed project … However, already the land acquisition process has started, the compensation package has been announced, and forms to apply for jobs are being distributed” reads the letter signed by Naba Dutta, secretary of green platform Sabuj Mancha.

The letter, a copy of which is with The Plurals and originally written in Bengali, was submitted in mid-February but the platform has not received any response till the time this article has been published.

Nagarik Mancha, a nonprofit, has recently released a fact sheet on the project that points out that though the project has significant economic value, the “existence of these thick basalt layers, however, makes mining of coal difficult” and “foreign investment and technology will hence be needed for mining”. The fact sheet has underlined that even Coal India Limited earlier refrained from taking up the project due to its geological challenge.