Shahnaz Begum of DOT
[2] The 10 km area around the Sundarbans is identified as an ‘Environmentally Critical Area’ or ECA. Establishment of environmentally polluting factories is prohibited within this limit. Activities harmful to the environment are also prohibited. But the ECA in the Sundarbans is thinking of further reducing the ECA to give legitimacy to illegally constructed factories and activities that are harmful to the environment, reports Daily Samakal.
[3] The Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world, is located on the coast of the Bay of Bengal and covers an area of 10,000 sq km. Of this, 6,017 sq km fell in Bangladesh. The rest is in India.
[4] The 10 km area around the Sundarbans was declared an Environmentally Critical Area (ECA) in 1999 to protect biodiversity and the natural environment. The Ministry of Environment and Forests has taken the initiative to review this boundary.
[5] The Ministry of Forests and Environment says it has taken steps to review the issue after several recent inter-ministerial meetings.
[6] Because there is no clear direction as to why the ECA has taken 10 kilometers, whether it is based on scientific or legal basis, whether ECA will be measured from the border of Sundarbans or from the part of Sundarbans which is part of world heritage.