Sindh to have major share in Thar Coal Project

Karachi: The Sindh government wants to constitute a Sindh Coal Mining Company for the province to have a major share in the project, as mineral resources are an exclusively provincial subject, it declared. The Sindh government has expressed serious reservations over the composition of the Thar Coal Mining Company, a body constituted by the previous federal government to develop the Thar Coal Project. In an official presentation before the provincial cabinet at its last meeting, the provincial mines and mineral department has shown concern over the allocation of only 20 percent to Sindh in the development of the project by the federal government.

According to the composition of the Thar Coal Mining Company, the federal government’s share was set at 40 percent, being shared equally by the ministry of petroleum and natural resources and the National Logistics Cell (NLC). The remaining 40 percent is a private share.

“We will work out the composition of the share holders constitutionally. Minerals are a provincial subject and the federal government’s role is to facilitate the province’s development”, said Provincial Mines and Minerals Minister Dr Khatoomal Jeewan.

Thar Coal Authority: Talking to Daily Times on Thursday, he said that the last federal government had constituted the Thar Coal Authority without the Sindh government’s consent. The provincial government has also reservations on the National Coal Policy, as Sindh is the only major coal-producer in the country. “We have recommended making this the Sindh Coal Policy,” he said, adding that the province has over 185 billion metric tons in coal reserves.

The minister claimed that Sindh can provide coal-based electricity to the whole country for at least 200 years, if only 50 billion tons of the coal reserves are mined and utilized for power generation. He said that the PPP government wants to start mining and power generation in the Thar coal field by the end of 2011, as this project was the dream of the slain party chairperson, Benazir Bhutto.

He said that the provincial government will cancel all MOUs (Memoranda of Understanding) signed by the last government with those companies who have done no work on the project. According to the presentation, the mines and mineral ministry, headed by former Minister Irfanullah Marwat, signed MOUs with 14 companies between May, 2005 and November, 2007, most of which have failed to deliver. The government has cancelled a CBM agreement signed with Soneri Energy (Pvt) Ltd., since the firm has no working background and the agreement was made in violation of the rules. The company had been given methane rights for the entire province in March, 2007.

The Fateh group is also among these companies, which, according to the minister, the government issued notice as it had started selling the coal in market.