Thar coal: ‘Direct govt to fund energy project’

Thar coal project could help overcome the severe energy shortage, but the government was not providing funds for it.

LAHORE: Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah of the Lahore High Court on Tuesday issued notice to the federal government on a petition seeking funds for a project to use coal reserves in Thar for electricity generation. Advocate Chaudhry Maqsood Gujjar filed the petition saying Pakistan was facing an energy crisis that had damaged local industries and the economy. He said that the Thar coal project could help overcome the severe energy shortage in the country, but the government was not providing funds for it. He asked the court to direct the government to allocate Rs5 billion for the project in the next budget.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 23^rd, 2012.