The formation of the Coal Mining Company (CMC) under the federal government is considered as another bid to deprive Sindh of its due rights.
Sources in the Sindh government and the Sindh Coal Authority told Business Recorder that on the one hand the federal government is engaged in the privatisation of national entities, on the other, it has created a company to explore and prepare feasibility of coal reserves in Sindh.
The creation of new company also provides the federal government a full authority over coal reserves in Sindh and the province would be sidelined in the process, the sources added.
The summary of the proposed Coal Mining Company has been approved by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and sent to the petroleum ministry but has not yet made public, sources said.
For the last 15 years, a powerful lobby in the federal government had thwarted the efforts of the government to develop coal resources. The lobby has still engaged in delaying the project and their vested interests would not bring any results under the new coal company.
They said the federal government would operate the newly-formed company and all revenues would go directly to Islamabad. This would frustrate the people living in the areas where coal reserves were identified, sources said.
The proposed CMC would work under the ministry of petroleum and natural resources and it would be co-ordinating among all the stakeholders on issues related to the coal sector development.
The officials in the ministry have proposed a plan to carry out a new survey study that there was insufficient detailed survey of mineral resources. The plan would open doors of corruption, sources said.
Sources said there was no need to conduct another study because already two world recognised firms (Chinese and Germans) had carried out detailed study.
Sources said that the object of the company to further delay the exploration of coal and create an impression that the provincial government was failed to undertake the projects. The delay would have far-reaching negative impact on the overall economy of the country, they added.
The chief minister and the governor of Sindh have reiterated on several occasions that the coal exploration must benefit the province and royalty should be utilised for the betterment of the people of the province. Sources said the coal authorities have assured the Sindh governor in a meeting held in July 2006 that they were fully capable of developing the coal reserves and exploiting the same for the betterment of people.
Pakistan has fourth largest coal reserves in the world, but the development of the coal sector could not be undertaken properly. Whenever the work carried out seriously by the Sindh government the lobby in the federal government has thwarted the development projects, they said. The government is seeking to overcome energy crisis through available recourses, including coal. It wants to explore the coal deposits but again the main hurdle was the lobby, which is misguiding the government on the issues, they said.
Several countries are producing electricity from coal while having the fourth largest reserves of coal, Pakistan was far behind to capitalise on coal for its power demands.
The United States generates 52 percent electricity from coal, the United Kingdom 58 percent, Australia 77 percent, Germany 52.5 percent even India produces 77 percent power from coal while having enough reserves Pakistan could not even produce one percent from coal, the sources said.
They said that foreign companies are reluctant to invest in the coal exploration or coal base power plant because they were always discouraged by the lobby in the federal government. The stubbornness of Wapda were also a hurdle because of Wapda's reluctance to offer fair tariff has put the plans of the Shenhua Group from China on hold. The group had planned to set up a 600 MW power plant at an estimated cost of $500 million in Thar, sources said.
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