Case against coal power project dismissed

LAHORE

The Lahore High Court on Wednesday dismissed a petition against coal power projects being set up in different parts of Punjab under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The court said the petition was not maintainable.

Advocate Syed Feroze Shah Gillani filed the petition saying there was no justification for setting up coal power projects as they had become obsolete in all over the world.

He said that the Punjab government was establishing these projects near residential areas, which would have drastic effects on crops, animals and even human beings.

The lawyer said the coal-fired power plants could not be allowed to be located within a residential area. He said the pollution caused by the establishment and operation of the small coal power plants in Lahore would lethally contaminate the air and water for present and future generations residing in the vicinity of the proposed plants.

He pleaded that the impugned projects were also in violation of fundamental rights of the citizens protected by the Constitution.