SC directs NAB to probe Thar coal power project

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to probe the Thar underground coal gasification project. The court also ordered seizure of all belongings, including machinery and other equipment, of Thar coal power plant besides directing the Auditor General of Pakistan to conduct a forensic audit of the project and submit report within 15 days.

A three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, heard the suo motu case regarding the Thar coal power project. During the hearing, prominent scientist and chairman of Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) project in Thar Dr Samar Mubarakmand appeared before the court

The court directed the chief secretary Sindh to take into possession the whole machinery of the project and sought a report pertaining to environmental pollution, if caused due to the said project.

During the hearing, amicus curie Salman Akram Raja submitted before the court that the feasibility report of the project was not clear. Similarly, he said that it was claimed that the project would boost the energy sector by producing 10,000 megawatt electricity for 30 years but as per experts, the project will lower the underground water reserves and affect the environment.

The amicus curie said that those who had approved the said project should have also looked into its viability. The chief justice said that for the first time he realised what a billion was, adding that billions of rupees were spent like dry leaves falling from a tree.

The chief justice questioned who was responsible for the project on which Rs3.8 billion had already been spent. The chief justice further questioned whether Dr Mubarakmand will pay this money. He recalled that tall claims were made about the viability of the said project.

“A lot of noise was created over the project that something not done by any scientist before was done this time,” the chief justice said. “A 100MW project is not even generating 3MW of electricity,” he said.

Justice Saqib Nisar asked whether this matter should be sent to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) or should a fresh investigation be initiated. The chief justice said there are two ways of producing electricity from Thar underground coal gasification project -- either through coal or by operating the way plants set-up on the ports do.

At the start of the hearing, Prosecutor General National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Asghar Haider submitted a report before the court regarding the project, which stated that according to engineers, it was not possible to generate electricity from underground coal.

When the court asked about the stance of the federal and provincial governments regarding the project, Advocate General Sindh submitted that the entire project was funded by the federal government, but the land was provided by the provincial government.

MNA Ramesh Kumar informed the court that work on the project had been halted for two years, while its employees had not yet been paid salaries. Dr Muabarakmand told the court that the project did not cause any environmental degradation. He claimed that an Australian company was also working on an underground gasification project, adding that lawyers cannot judge the viability of his project.

The chief justice, while addressing Dr Muabarakmand, observed that the tall claims he made about the project about providing free electricity to consumers caused the national kitty a loss of Rs4 billion. Slaman Akram Raja and Shehzad Elahi also submitted their recommendations to the court.

The court ordered seizure of all belongings of Thar coal power plant besides directing the Auditor General of Pakistan to conduct a forensic audit of the project and submit report within 15 days and adjourned the hearing for date-in-office.