Rushanara Ali (Bethnal Green and Bow, Labour) Bangladesh International Development Alan Duncan

Bangladesh
International Development

Rushanara Ali (Bethnal Green and Bow, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development

(1) what his policy is on support for open-pit coal mining in Bangladesh;

(2) what representations his Department has received on open-pit coal mining in Bangladesh.

Alan Duncan (Minister of State, International Development; Rutland and Melton, Conservative)

The decision to allow open-pit mining in Bangladesh is for the Government of Bangladesh to make.

DFID received representations from NGOs in London last year, at official level focussing particularly on the Phulbari mine. As far as we are aware, this is the only representation that we received.