As the prospect of open pit mining for coal seems to become real in Bangladesh, horror feeling shrouds the Northern region of the country. The local people including the indigenous Santals in the mine area accuse Bangladesh government and the company in contract, UK based Asia Energy, of deception. Philip Gain of Society for Environment and Human Development (SEHD) reports.


Boro Buski and Chhoto Buski. Two Santal villages side by side in Birampur Thana of Dinajpur, a northern district of Bangladesh. An artificial forest of acacia and minjuri trees lies in the east of the villages. There was a time when native sal (Shorea robusta) forest was abundant. The patch of the planted forest on the highland looks like an island from a distance. There are vast rice fields in the north and the east of the villages. The highland is luxuriant with dry-season crops such as mustard, wheat, and green vegetables. Santal men and women are busy planting paddy saplings in their lowland. A line of eucalyptus on the horizon is typical of the landscapes in the recent times. A golden shower of sunshine in the evening flushes the landscapes. Inside the Santal villages the view becomes more beautiful. The huge traditional mud-houses with few windows, typical of the Santals, line up along a village path. The tidy and serene villages speak of their antiquity.

These two Santal villages will have no trace if open pit mining takes places for extraction of coal. The villages will vanish in the deep hollow of the open pit mining. The villagers have already learnt their possible fate. Search for coal has been going on for several years in this area. Experts from country and abroad have frequented the area with their drilling equipment. They pulled out coal from deep in the earth in 150 drilling sites. The villagers have watched the drilling activities with curiosity. They were told of coal deposit in the area and prospect of mining. They thought the mining would bring good both to them and to the country. Afterwards they came to know that the mining would follow a method that requires removal of entire overburden from the top of the coal. It means all villages [more than 100 according to the company] in some 59 sq. km will have to be evicted and the inhabitants relocated. Everything on the ground will vanish. This is a horror story for the Santals and others in the mine area. They are furious. The Santal represents the second largest indigenous community of Bangladesh.

We meet a middle-aged Santal man as we enter Boro Buski. Already informed of their anger about the open pit mining, we decide not to provoke them in anyway. So we first talk about the plantation on eastside of the village where trees were planted under “social forestry” program with financial support of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). We request him to come with us to the plantation site. He accompanies us to the plot he is a participant to. He tells us that the trees of this plot are fifteen years old and would be cut soon.

Low terraced rice fields, typical of the Barind Tract, start from the northwestern edge of the plantation. We walk along the aisle of the fields. Several Santal men and women are busy in their field. They work silently, giving absolutely no attention to our existence.
We try to talk to a group of some six Santal men and women working on their rice field. But they are tight-lipped. We make fun to break the ice. It works. Gradually the rigid refusal seems to somewhat melt. Two of them talk to us with clear body language of disbelief. An old lady bluntly says they do not trust anyone from Capital Dhaka. People from Dhaka deceived them. They surveyed their land and villages without giving any hint of the open pit mining that requires eviction. Now comes the frightful story that they will have to vacate the area if the open-cut mining takes place.

Who are these people from Dhaka and those of the company? They are actually the employees and consultants of Asia Energy that is in contract with Bangladesh government for exploration and development of mine. They represent environmental organizations and universities. Many are expatriates and many are local. Santals took us for the company people. So we are unwanted and the Santals want us to go away from their land.

We keep trying to hear more from the Santals working on their land. Rina Tudu (45) from Boro Buski finally talks. She has 20 Bighas (approximately 6.5 acres) of cultivable land. She has another five Bighas of homestead and home gardens. “I would rather die on my own land than to leave it and go elsewhere,” declares Rina as she stands on her rice field. We understand what pinches her.

We then enter the village. What a beautiful village it is! But the faces of its Santal inhabitants are so grim. We meet two elderly men sitting on the village path. Paulus Tudu, one of them, is near sixty. His silent face talks about his frustration, pain and foreboding. His eyes tell we bring no good news. We ask if we could see his house. He takes us inside. As he walks in, he sighs, “We will not move from here.”

We pass some more time in the village. All the faces we see are so sad. Chhoto Buski is adjacent to Boro Buski village. We walk into the village. A Santal woman is cooking in the open yard of her house. Although she does not receive us with the traditional Santal hospitality, she gives us stools to sit on. We try to know her feeling about the coal mine. Like others she remains tight-lipped. She even denies telling us her name. She does not trust us because we are from Dhaka. “People from Dhaka came and took our photographs. Now we hear that we have to vacate our land for the mining,” is the only response we get from her.

About a hundred Santal families live in Boro Buski and Choto Buski villages. One of the families had to leave Choto Buski for expressing support for Asia Energy among few other reasons. The Santals complain that for deceptive way of recording, genuine stocktaking of their properties—houses, land, cattle, etc.—did not take place.

The sun sets and we leave for Phulbari town. As we cut through the beautiful landscapes, we paint an imagery of the future in our mind—we see a thousand-foot deep hollow, open pit. So much devastation will take place here! The mother earth will be so much upset! So many people will cry!

The mine area covers more than a hundred villages of seven Unions in four Upazilas—Phulbari, Birampur, Nawabganj and Parbatipur—and part of Phulbari Sadar Upazila, all under Dinajpur district. Thousands of acres of cropland fall in the area. Asia Energy, a UK-based company is in contract with Bangladesh government for this great show of mining in Phulbari called Phulbari Coal Project. An Australian company, BPH, had started the coal exploration in this area. Bangladesh government signed contract with BPH through an open tender. Later in 1998 the contract was transferred to Asia Energy. Asia Energy, after estimation of coal reserve, has submitted to the government a plan of operation. Bangladesh government has already granted environment clearance to the company.

According to Asia Energy, 5,900 hectares or 59 sq. km. land is required for the mine. The area of Phulbari Thana Sadar that falls into the project area has brick-built houses, schools, colleges, tarmacked roads, railroads, business facilities and so forth. Outside the township lie vast crop fields, forest patches and plantations. Beneath the expanse of beautiful landscapes lies the 38 meter thick (on an average) coal of 270 million years. Now profit-hunting foreign company has its eyes on the mineral. Human life, environment and all other concerns are downplayed.
According to Asia Energy the coal reserve in this mine is 572 million tons. The company believes, if explored, more coal will be traced in the south of the present mine.

Asia Energy is relentless in its persuasion that Bangladesh will only benefit from the coalmine. Appointed by Asia Energy, GHD, an international organization, prepared a report for the company. With the survey report in hand, Asia Energy claims that the benefits Bangladesh will get over 30 years of the mine’s lifetime is worth US$21 billion. Of this, US$7.8 billion would come as direct benefit and US$ 13.7 billion as indirect or multiplier benefits. The mine itself and the coal-fired plant for production of electricity will contribute one per cent per annum to the GDP of the country.

How dependable is this estimate of Asia Energy? Economist Prof. Anu Muhammad, a critic, has his answer. In an interview with Sangbad, a vernacular daily newspaper, he said: “This evaluation of the mine project is a kind of deception. It only shows how Bangladesh will benefit from the investment of Asia Energy and suppresses the extent of damage it would cause. This is actually a sham on Asia Energy’s part because it intends to cover up the questions about its activities that have already been raised.”

Open pit mining to extract coal is followed in many parts of the world. But there are hundreds of questions related to open pit mining and its consequences on environment in Bangladesh, one of the world’s most densely populated countries. Tension is at its pick in the mine area as regards the benefits and loses. At the national level, on the contrary, serious analysis and discussion about the coal policy, contract with Asia Energy and loss-benefit from the open pit mining is pitiful.

Both the government and the opposition, meaning the main political parties are supportive of the Phulbari Coal Project. It is indeed a bad news for the aggrieved people of the mine area. The inhabitants of the mine area complain that people living in other parts of the country do not realize their plight, nor do they foresee the disaster the open pit mining is likely to cause to this region.

It is not that Asia Energy does not talk about the damages to be caused by the open pit, but its assessment is highly questionable and controversial. The first major area of debate is the number of people to be displaced. The company says the mine would displace forty thousand people of some 100 villages and a portion in the east of Phulbari town. The local people reject this assessment of the company. Leaders of Phulbari Raksha (protection) Committee that was created on 17 June 2005, claim the actual number of people to be displaced and affected is much higher than the company’s estimates.

“We understand that about 150,000 people of the mine area will be directly affected and 200,000 to 250,000 would be affected indirectly,” said Md. Khurshid Alam Moti, a top leader of the Phulbari Raksha Committee. He is also the principal of Phulbari Women’s Degree College and chairman of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in Phulbari. While in Dhaka both major parties [in power and in the opposition] support the open pit mining in Dianjpur, the local leaders of both parties are strongly opposed to the project.

“We heard there is a coal deposit in this area. But the people engaged by Asia Energy never let us know the method for mining would be open-cut that necessitates eviction and destruction of our houses, schools, colleges and all other establishments in the mine footprint. We do not want open pit mining. We, all, irrespective of party affiliations, are against it,” said Moti, extremely annoyed. “Our movement is for our existence. We will not go anywhere leaving behind our homes.”

The thought of open pit mining by evicting a hundred villages and thousands of people, destroying educational institutions and thousands of acres of cultivable land simply terrify and outrage the people of this area. Nima Banik, a lecturer at Phulbari Women’s Degree College says, “No matter wherever we are put, if we get evicted from our homes, we will lose our traditions, social bondage and businesses. These losses are beyond compensation. Moreover, we do not trust Asia Energy. Its estimate is unfounded.”

Dismissing the allegations of the local people, M. Anwarul Islam, Asia Energy’s general manager (environment and community) says, “We have always mentioned the idea of open pit. In Phulbari, there is no other option.” His claim: “We have changed our coal extraction plan to keep most of Eastern part of Phulbari Upazila town outside the mine. Consequently, we will extract 20 million ton less coal than our initial estimate. We take this measure to reduce the damage.”

According to the company all the damages will be compensated and the condition of the inhabitants of the mine area will be better than before. But none of the local people this writer spoke to believes in what the company proclaims. Their demand is clear: “We do not want open pit mining.” From June 2005 the Phulbari Raksha Committee has been organizing processions and meetings every Saturday in Phulbari in protest against it.

Asia Energy claims that Bangladesh has no risk in the Phulbari mine project. It does not have any investment headache as well. The company also claims that Bangladesh will receive half of the total profit accrued from the mining operation. The profit includes 6 percent royalty, 45 percent corporate tax and 2.5 percent import duty. The other gains of Bangladesh as the company mentions will be “a new source of energy for the country, a new commodity for export, new industries, employment opportunities, regional development, poverty alleviation, growth of nascent industry, new rail and port infrastructure.”

Professor Anu Muhammad refutes its claim: “The speculation of benefit and damage by the same company that would extract the coal is not dependable. Nor reliable are its reports of environmental and social impact assessment (EIA and SIA). The company admits that there will be damage, but then it gets lost in all the big talks.” His fear is: “It is Bangladesh where the coal has been found; and a foreign company will become its owner. There is no proper way to measure the actual benefit of Bangladesh and the price it would have to pay for it. What becomes clear is Bangladesh will have to buy its own coal from the company at an international price.”

We also do not hear much about some other important matters related to benefits and losses of the project. The quality of Phulbari coal is very high. As the company says, most of this 270 million year old coal will be exported. The coal deposit is huge and 25 percent of it is raw material for making steel. Its price will be much higher than the other types of coal. We are also in the dark about the market price of the coal and investors and other factors related to investments. There is no independent evaluation on these matters. Moreover, huge amounts of co-products such as clay, sand (raw material for glass), gravel, kaolin and water will be extracted from the mine. The company will own these co-products too. There is no discussion about what benefit Bangladesh will get out of these.

A serious concern of open pit mining is its environmental impacts. The method requires the mine area to be completely dewatered so that the hollow of the mine does not immerse in water. Not an easy task to do! Huge pumps need to be set up around the mine for dewatering activity. These pumps will suck out underground water round-the-clock during the entire lifetime of the mine. This has to be done to make sure the mine remains dry at all time. The impact on the already dry Barind Tract is seemingly obvious. Water level runs lower in Barind Tract during dry season and makes it difficult for the tubewells to draw water. When dewatering starts for the mining, one doubts if the shallow and deep tubewells would draw enough water in large area near and around the mine. What will then happen to the peasants of the region?

Asia Energy’s solution is to distribute the water pumped out among the farmers. It is an open question if the water distribution would be evenhanded. Given Bangladesh has no prior experience in this regard there are good reasons for fear. The government and non-government organizations have been trying many options including tree plantation for many years now to prevent desertification in the North Bengal. If dewatering in the mining area hastens the desertification process, pouring water above the ground remains a doubtful option.

Open pit mining means a havoc on the landscapes. The Asia Energy officials inform that the average thickness of coal’s layer in Phulbari is 38 meters. In order to reach the layer of the coal, overburden between 150 and 250 meters needs to the removed. After mining is complete in a particular block, there will be a thousand feet deep hollow. Once used up, the huge hollow will be filled with earth and a new area will be dug out. The area filled up does not become useful in many years. According to a high official in Asia Energy, the top soil will be removed and preserved once the mining operation begins in a particular block. The top soil will be brought back and spread on the top of the area filled in. But no one can say when the land becomes cultivable again. There is another question: will the company fill the hollow with the same care as it is done in the developed countries? As everybody knows, non-compliance of the existing laws is a common practice in Bangladesh. At the final stage of the mining operation, say in 30 years after the operation begins, Bangladesh will get a huge lake that according to the company will be filled up with fresh water providing a big source of water, fishery and recreation. Here we get a warning from the mine experts that the final hollow, after 30 years of digging and other activities, will contain toxic substances. It is not realistic to see this polluted lake becoming a source of fresh water so easily.

Handling the other forms of environment pollution is also a difficult challenge. There will be routine dynamite explosion inside the mine to break the rocks and the coal. Heavy machineries will be set up in and outside the mine. Heavy trucks (240-ton) and trains will carry the coal. Noise pollution from all these have consequences. Coal dusts will be a major source of air pollution. Will the enormous amount of polluted water generated from washing of the coal be properly treated? If the water is allowed to flow untreated and mix with the water-bodies around, it will kill fish and other forms of life. The earth through such deep digging and many types of pollution will lose all its micro-organisms. Air pollution from burning of coal to produce electricity is a big concern. Air polluting agents such as Sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, volatile organic compounds (VOC), mercury, lead, cadmium, chromium, arsenic, etc. will contaminate earth, water, plants and animals. Getting rid of these pollutants is extremely difficult. Asia Energy expects to keep the pollution within a tolerable level. Many do not agree with the company. There are many who understand that the pollutants will create a hell in the mine area. There is fear that company will not adopt adequate measures to mitigate pollution because these involve lots of effort and cash.

Transportation of the coal is another big concern. In order for marketing, the coal will be carried to the deep seaport through the Sundarbans. New seaport and railroads will be built for this. This will create employment and bring revenue but will also bring fresh worries for the environment of the Sunderbans [the single largest mangrove patch on earth] in particular. The noise and water pollution created by the Mongla Port has already become a threat to the animals, plants and other life forms in the mangrove forest. The added transportation over the 30 years of the mine’s lifetime will increase threats to the Sundarbans manifolds. The environment and social impact assessment (EIA and SIA) of the Phulbari Coal Project has already been carried out and approved by the Department of Environment of Bangladesh government, informed the Asia Energy officials. Three hundred consultants of several international and national companies, some Bangladeshi environmental organizations and individuals have done the EIA and SIA. They have produced 2,600-page reports after 18 months of work. This is where many question if the EIA and SIA commissioned by the same company that will extract the coal have been impartial. Asia Energy claims it will do all that is needed to be done for the protection of environment and social harmony.

At the center of so many questions and worries raised is the open pit or surface mining, a method to be applied first time in Bangladesh. No Bangladeshi company or investment is involved with this project. Everything will be carried out under Asia Energy’s authority. And the company expects everybody to believe in all that it proclaims! The local press and the environmental groups lack critical and analytical attitude towards information, data and analyses that the company provides and hide.

Although the people of mine area and their supporters stand strong against the Phulbari Coal Project, they are not against extraction of the coal in general. Their understanding is that the ownership of the coal and fate of the affected people just cannot be handed down to a foreign company. They suggest waiting until the country develops its own mining expertise and technology. “We may give our consent when the country will be able to mine the coal resource with our own technology,” says Principal Md. Khurshid Alam Moti, a top leader of Phulbari Raksha Committee.

There are many others who join their voices with Principal Moti. “We need coal for our energy security. We cannot afford to give full charge of this coal resource to a foreign company. We would not get much benefit from the investment in the Phulbari Coal Project,” says Prof. Anu Muhammad. “The coal has been lying there for 270 million years. Let it stay there for another 10-20 years. In the meantime we prepare ourselves to extract it. That would ensure our national interest.”

Asia Energy turns down the demand of the Phulbari people and others to wait until Bangladesh builds its own expertise and mining technology. It says by the time Bangladesh has it own mining expertise and resources, the fossil-fuel may not be required any longer. So it is high time to extract the coal, claims the company. If our government has the same opinion, we need to clearly examine at what cost we get some benefits from the coal. The interest and opinions of the people in the mine area demand serious attention in this regard.

Project Proponent: Asia Energy Corporation (Bangladesh) Pty Ltd. the Bangladesh subsidiary of UK based Asia Energy PLC.
Product: Bituminous coal (high calorific value, low ash, low sulphur)—both thermal and metallurgical.
Estimated Coal Deposit: 572 million tons some 150-250 meters beneath the surface.
Co-Product: Clay, Sand, Gravel, Kaolin, Water.
Total Coal Resource: 572 million tones (would be higher still with further drilling in the south.
Export/Local consumption: Coal will be both exported and consumed domestically. Export will be mostly through Khulna and Akram Point in partnership with Bangladesh Railway and Mongla Port Authority.
Project life: More than 30 years.
Project timeframe: Dewatering is due to start in 2006, physical mine development in 2007 and first production of coal in 2008.
Project area: 7 Unions and 1 Municipality in 4 Upazilas of Phulbari, Birampur, Nawabganj and Parbatipur in the district of Dinajpur.
Total land area required for the Project: About 5,900 hectares over the life of the mine.

SMEC International Pty Ltd, Australia: Project management, social impact assessment, resettlement planning, environmental monitoring, surface water hydrology, hydraulic modelling, GIS, air quality, noise, rehabilitation, water quality, traffic, town planning, the environmental management plan, EIA/SIA reporting.
GHD Pty Ltd, Australia: Resource evaluation, geotechnics, hydrogeology, local and regional infrastructure and transport, data management, geophysics, river diversion studies.
Mine Consult Pty Ltd, Australia: Mine design and mine scheduling.
QCC Ltd, Australia: Coal quality, coal treatment plant.
Coffey Geosciences Pty Ltd: Water management, mine water balance.
Centre for Environmental and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS), Bangladesh: GIS database, surveying, field hydrology instrumentation and data collection.
Nature Conservation Management (NACOM), Bangladesh: Dry and wet season ecological database and biodiversity field assessments.
Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC): Airborne particulate matter sample analysis, quality assurance auditing, geophysical borehole logging.
Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS): Resettlement surveys.
Health Promotions Limited: Health impact assessment.
Institute of Water Modelling (IWM), Bangladesh: Regional surface water modeling.
The World Conservation Union (IUCN): Legislative and policy advice, peer review of biodiversity study.
Dr M.K.Ahmed, Dhaka University: Arsenic in groundwater assessment.
Dr N.Kamal & K.Z. Ashan, Independent University: Demographics.
Mr Mannan, Independent University: Anthropology, ethnic minorities.
Professor M Hoque, Jahangirnagar University: Archaeology, historical sites.
Dr Amin, Hazi Danesh Science & Technology University, Dinajpur: Soil science and agriculture.
Professor SMM Rahman, Dhaka University: Socio-economics.
Dr. Zaman, Canada: Resettlement.
Dr. Chris Johansen: Agriculture, land utilisation, rehabilitation.
Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET): Water quality testing.
ALS Environmental Laboratories, Brisbane, Australia: Water quality testing.
International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B): Bacteriological and arsenic testing.
Source: Environmental Impact Assessment, Phulbari Coal Project, Asia Energy, June 2005

SEHD Report.
(Please send information and your opinions/suggestions on the Phulbari Coal Project, open-pit and any other relevant information to SEHD at its email:sehd@citechco.net. Visit our website: sehd.org to see images of the mine area.).