The proposed 1,320MW power plant project (consisting of two generating units of 660MW) will cause irreparable damage to the livelihoods of two million inhabitants dependent on the Sundarbans; most rely on agriculture, shrimp cultivation, and fishing but also wood, and palm collecting. All these livelihoods are at at risk as the support infrastructure of the Rampal power plant has already been built.

The most deadly impact will be on fisheries. The plant will discharge toxic water in the Passur River, and oil and chemical wastes from coal-carrying vessels will also contaminate the water. The mangrove-supported habitat will also suffer, and shrimp farms and homestead fishponds will be no exception.

In total, 95 percent of the land acquired is agricultural land. The production of crops will decrease since fertility will reduce drastically as a result of coal related pollution from the very beginning of the plant's operation.The air, odour and sound pollution will affect local inhabitants and cattle so badly that it will be barely possible for people to live and cultivate. Inhabitants' health is also likely to deteriorate.

The power plant will reduce the livestock grazing area, and waste from coal such as fly ashes and bottom ashes will contaminate air and water. This will make livestock vulnerable to diseases and will also affect the income level of households and farms.

The damage caused by installing an industrial site so close to the Sundarbans will leave the south-western coast of Bangladesh vulnerable to storms, cyclones, and other natural disasters.    

The importance and vulnerability of the Sundarbans is often contrasted with the extensive destruction which the Rampal power plant would bring about. According to Dr. Abdullah Harun Chowdhury and his team, the impacts of the Rampal 2x660 MW coal fired power plant are mostly negative and irreversible.

The research shows that climate, topography, land use pattern, air and water (both surface and ground) quality, wetlands, floral and faunal diversity, capture fisheries and tourism will be affected permanently due to the proposed coal fired power plant. Increase in water logging conditions, river erosion, noise pollution and health hazards; decrease of ground water table; loss of culture fisheries, social forestry and major destruction of agriculture will be the expected consequences of the Rampal coal-fired power plant.

Once the plant is in operation, it will burn 4.7 million tonnes of coal, emitting 7.9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide and other hazardous gases that will dispersed into the air. Reportedly, 220 tonnes of different toxic gases will be discharged daily from the plant unless they are treated appropriately before emission. These gases will be spread out by wind and affect communities, trees, animals, soil and livestock. Heavy metals resulting from coal burning will be kept in a 100 acre coal ash pond, containing toxic sludge located close to the Passur river, a cyclone and flood prone area.    

The plant will require 9,150 cubic metres of water per hour from the Passur River for its operation. According to the official environmental impact assessment (EIA) report, 5,150 cubic metre of hot water will be discharged every hour, daily, for the next 25 years into the Passur river. The toxic discharged water will have a destructive effect on the fisheries, shrimp farms, and mangrove-supported habitat.

This project would require 13,000 tonnes of coal on a daily basis, navigational vessels will travel up and down the Passur river daily to deliver the required coal volumes. In December 2014, an oil tanker sank spiling over 350 tonnes of furnace oil into the Shela river: locals were compelled to clean up given the lack of capacity to tackle oil spills. Less than six months later, in May 2015 a vessel sank in the Bhola river spreading 500 tonnes of toxic fertilizer. Less than half a year later, in October 2015, another vessel carrying 510 tonnes of coal capsized in the Passur rivers. The latest incident took place on March 19 2016, when a cargo vessel carrying 1,235 tonnes of coal capsized in the Shela river at the Chandpai Range.    

These most recent cases are a strong reminder of the accidents that could occur once coal is transported daily to reach the Rampal site. Equally, extensive dredging needs to take place along the Passur river to allow vessels to navigate. These will most certainly harm the fragile ecosystem of the Sundarbans. And thus the people, the tigers, the dolphins, the turtles, the fish, the mangrove and the innumerable crucial organisms that keep the Sundarbans alive.

The coal plant would have consequences on its surroundings but also on the global climate. Not only would it burn a large amount of coal, it is likely to reduce the mangrove forest and coastal wetland, both of which may be able to store up to five times more carbon than tropical forests of the same size. Such extensive impacts on the Sundarbans would represent a huge loss for the world.

Rampal Power Plant that officially covers 1834 acres of land has put the livelihood of two million inhabitants under threat as the infrastructure has already been built. These local people were mostly dependent on agriculture and shrimp cultivation. The concerned authorities of the government of Bangladesh also displaced the local inhabitants in an improper and dubious manner. The land necessary for the proposed power plant project was acquired before the Department of Environment (DoE) granted a site clearance previous to an EIA.

The government displaced local people, in many cases, without previous and informed consent from communities. Similarly, it remains unclear how compensation to land owners were handled. The documentary, Long Live the Sundarbans, covers the long march and depicts human rights violations that took place in the Rampal area. South Asians for Human Rights (SAHR) conducted a fact finding mission focusing on the process of land acquisition while Transparency International Bangladesh reported instances of corruption and human rights violation.

In the rural society of Bangladesh, women are the main agents for ensuring long-term survival and bondage of a family. They are also the major bread earners of many families. As the livelihood or home of a family gets threatened, women become the first victims to suffer and struggle to keep their families go on.    

Indian company NTPC's involvement in this power plant project in Bangladesh is more motivated by commercial interest than by the legal and ethical guidelines it is supposed to follow when implementing such projects in India. According to the guidelines of the Indian Environment and Forest Ministry, it is not permitted to set up any such plant within a 25 km vicinity of any protected forest. 

In Bangladesh, the government persistently endorses the Rampal power plant as if there was no other option than the Rampal plant just beside the Sundarbans. No alternatives are put forward to mitigate the power crisis.

There is a great imbalance in the gains and losses the Rampal project brings. The Bangladeshi cost of environmental degradation and loss of livelihoods will not necesarily be made even by a country-wide economic gain. Eventually if we want to see who is going to benefit from the economic growth, it is only those who can afford to pay for electricity. 

A BankTrack analysis in 2015 concluded that the Rampal coal plant is non-compliant with the Equator Principles.