@article{Group Captain Muhammad Mortuza Kamal, ndc, psc, GD(P)_2009, place={Dhaka, Bangladesh}, title={EVALUATION OF PHULBARI DEAL: SEARCH FOR POLICY OPTIONS}, volume={8}, url={https://ndcjournal.ndc.gov.bd/ndcj/index.php/ndcj/article/view/65}, abstractNote={<p>An Australian company, Broken Hill Proprietary Minerals International<br>Exploration Inc (BHP), started coal exploration in Phulbari area. Bangladesh<br>government signed a contract with BHP through an open tender. In 1998, the contract was assigned to Asia Energy (AEC), a British company, after estimating<br>the coal reserve. A AEC report claims that Bangladesh will receive benefits worth<br>US$13.7 billion as indirect or multiplier benefits. The mine itself and the coal fired<br>plant for the production of electricity will contribute 1% percent per annum to the<br>Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country. 26 August 2006, the local people<br>assembled in Phulbari town to tell the foreign company that it must vacate their<br>ancestral land. They would rather die than allow the company to mine their land<br>for coal since that would displace a huge population. It seems that the full<br>implementation of the agreement between the National Committee to Protect Oil,<br>Gas, Mineral Resources, Power and Port and the government seems to be the<br>hardest part of the episode. However, all concerned should look into the factors<br>that have led to this catastrophic situation. It seems that is a clear mismatch<br>between the deal signed and the coal policy. Many believe that the Phulbari Coal<br>project will be a burden for the country. So the issue needs urgent attention. The<br>lessons learnt must be drawn in the upcoming coal policy which is still in draft<br>form. Keeping all the realities in mind, it is necessary to examine the deal minutely<br>and establish the facts and expose the deviations in the deal which have lead to<br>such national crisis. This paper makes an humble effort at evaluating the deal and<br>suggest a few viable options. The aim of the paper is to suggest stopping further<br>recurrence of such misunderstanding, finding out the mismatch between the deal<br>and its implementation and recommend a suitable extraction method based on<br>keeping the national interest at the centre.</p>}, number={1}, journal={NDC E-JOURNAL}, author={Group Captain Muhammad Mortuza Kamal, ndc, psc, GD(P)}, year={2009}, month={Jun.}, pages={19-40} }