30,000 families affected: report

Some 30,000 families were displaced and lost occupational opportunities due to land acquisition for ongoing development projects in Patuakhali’s Kalapara, according to a fact-finding report of Life and Nature Safeguard Platform (LNSP).

In a separate report, the newly-formed platform also said land acquisition process for Matarbari coal power project in Cox’s Bazar was flawed, and did not reflect the affected people’s opinion properly.

The reports were presented yesterday at a dialogue on “Development policy and crisis of life and nature”, arranged by LNSP at The Daily Star Centre. It was attended by green activists, rights activists, and affected people.

The fact-finding report on Kalapara is based on visit of an LNSP team to the upazila’s three unions -- Champapur, Dhankhali and Lalua -- on January 27-28 this year.

It says that about half of total land in the three unions have been acquired, while five percent of the upazila’s total land have been acquired for 15 different projects including Payra sea port, a navy base, and three coal-based power plant projects.

These development projects have posed threat to hilsa sanctuary and fish breeding, limited fishermen’s and farmer’s employment opportunities, and also posed threat to local environment and ecosystem, it says.

Referring to a Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) report, the LNSP report on Matarbari project says the Japan-funded project could not gain its standard of neutrality because of possibility of a “conflict of interest” over its environmental impact assessment (EIA), done by Tokyo Electric Power Services Company Limited.

It says the two views-exchange meetings of stakeholders held over the project did not take place in the project area, but in an adjacent area.

As many as 199 people took part in the meetings but most of them were representatives of funding organisation Jica, government officials, teachers of government schools, journalists, traders, local government representatives and NGO officials.

According to the meetings’ lists, 24 of the participants were affected people. However, identities of only seven of them could be known, it says.

Attending locals affected by the project alleged that the meetings were dominated by people who spoke for the project’s interest or those who had no land in project area.

Some 45 families were displaced due to the coal power project, according to the report, that says due to landfill for the project, locals have faced severe waterlogging for half the time over the past three years.

Addressing the programme, TIB Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman said priority had to be given on ensuring economic opportunities and rehabilitation of those who were affected directly by the projects.

Similar initiative should be taken for people affected by such development projects in other areas, he said.

Iftekharuzzaman said there could be collective approach for providing such affected people with legal assistance. Protests should continue against the kind of development activities which have dragged people back.

“Development excluding people’s rights and democracy never sustained,” he added.

Instead of just paying compensation, due rights of people affected by such development projects should be met properly, said ActionAid Bangladesh Country Director Farah Kabir.

With displacement, these people also lost their occupational opportunities. They should be resettled, re-skilled, and provided with occupational opportunities or assistance for self-employment opportunity, she said.

Moderating the dialogue, LNSP Coordinator and Supreme Court lawyer Jyotirmoy Barua said they would work on to challenge big investors who funded such development projects “without compliance”.