Home »Fuel and Energy » Pakistan » Thar coal project: SC irked by woefully poor performance of Mubarakmand

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  • Oct 12th, 2018
  • Comments Off on Thar coal project: SC irked by woefully poor performance of Mubarakmand
The Supreme Court Thursday expressed displeasure over the production of only 8MW electricity after spending Rs 3.4 billion in the Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) project and directed for setting up of a committee to find out irregularities in the execution of the project.

The Chief Justice said that according to Dr Samar Mubarakmand, many achievements were made "but in our view, it is a total failure." The court appointed Advocates Salman Akram Raja and Riaz Elahi as amicus curiae. The court asked both the lawyers to form a committee of scientists and experts to probe how the irregularities were committed in the execution of the project.

The court noted that from time to time funds were released for the project but only 8MW could be generated. It was a faulty project that caused a huge loss to the national exchequer and wasted public money. The prosecutor general National Accountability Bureau was directed to investigate Dr Mubarakmand and other officials for producing only 8MW electricity despite spending Rs 3.4 billion on the project.

A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, heard the case. Additional Attorney General briefed the bench about the power projects either installed or in process in Thar. Prominent nuclear scientist and Chairman of Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) project in Thar, Dr Samar Mubarakmand, had conceived the idea of generating 100MW electricity through underground coal gasification. The science and technology department of the Planning Commission had approved the project for 100MW electricity to be generated through the UCG. Its cost was Rs 9 billion and was scheduled to be completed within two years, he said.

He said that the project went into hibernation for over one-and-a-half year and was launched in October 2012 when the department released Rs 900 million. Later, Rs 1,000 million was released in 2013-14 and Rs 1,000 million for the project were released in 2014-15, he said. The project was then transferred to the energy department of the PC which released Rs 360 million and then completely stopped funding in 2016-17, he said.

Meanwhile, the same bench directed the advocate general Sindh to constitute a committee that could propose steps for improving the conditions of people belonging to Thar, particularly the infants, who have been dying of malnutrition. "We do not want the deaths of children in Mithi," the Chief Justice said. The AG Sindh informed the court that the total population of Thar is 160,000 and only 60,000 are living below the poverty line over a 22,000 square kilometers area.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2018


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