Funds for Thar coal project unlikely in 2009-10 budget: Centre, Sindh government remain at loggerheads

The federal government is unlikely to allocate funds in the 2009-10 budget for generation of power from Thar coal, in view of severe differences between the federal and provincial government officials regarding control over the bodies responsible for execution of the project, Business Recorder learnt on Monday.
According to sources, the Centre is insisting to carry out the development work through Thar Coal Mining Company, to be established by the federal government, whereas the Sindh government had constituted Thar Coal Energy Board, and also recently created a new department, 'Coal and Energy Development Department' for the purpose.
Sources said that the federal government had proposed only 20 percent share of the vast reserves of Thar coal to the Sindh government, and 80 percent to go to the Centre, if the mining company is allowed to carry out the uplift works. In the present setup, they said that it seemed that the federal government did not want to develop Thar coal due to a dispute, and added that no development work had been carried out at the site for past 15 years. The Centre and the provincial governments remain at loggerheads due to authoritarian control of the Thar Coal, they added.
During a meeting of the Annual Plan Co-ordination Committee (APCC), they said, the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, Assef Ahmed Ali, had told Sindh government officials that funds could only be earmarked if the province agreed for uplift by the mining company.
Presently, they said, the country is facing a shortfall of around 3,500 MW and the delay in Thar coal project, from which some 200,000MW could easily be generated, would further aggravate the situation and push the country into darkness. Moreover, they said, the Planning Commission (PC) had also rejected to include Thar Coal and Power Technical Assistance Project of the World Bank, which was later approved following strong protest by Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah.