Questions on coal

The Thar coalfields have been the subject of much debate since their discovery in the 1990s. It is now time to take a hard look at what we stand to gain and what we stand to lose if Thar coal becomes a reality. With an estimated 175-billion-tonnes of coal reserves, the federal government seems to be looking at the coalfields as the energy future of Pakistan. New Chinese-funded coal power plants are being set up across the country; for optimists these will provide 100,000 MW of electricity for two centuries. It is most likely, though, that such claims are exaggerated, despite promises being made of the potential for thousands of jobs as a result of these coal plants. According to the sceptics, locals in the areas where the plants are being set up speak of potential risks to their homes and lives. Villagers from the 12 villages falling in the area held a protest outside the Islamkot press club for 100 days – without any result. The locals have cited a threat to the groundwater supply in the coal-affected region. A reservoir of polluted coal effluent is being built in the area as well as a 1320 MW coal-powered plant. There have been promises of reverse osmosis plants in case of groundwater aquifers. Hopefully, that will be followed through. There are also fears that pastoral land will be affected in a drought-hit area. Two villages in the area have already been told to relocate.

Coal is seen as the most environmentally unfriendly form of fossil fuel for electricity generation. Not only does it emit more pollutants into the air, its damage to localities surrounding the coalmines is catastrophic. The effect on climate is likely also to test Pakistan’s ratification of the Paris and Morocco climate change agreements. For these reasons, it is hard to imagine the benefit that locals would get from the project. It is clear that the residents of the area are not buying the story – neither of these benefits nor of the idea that thousands of potential jobs will go to the area’s local residents. The (mostly Hindu) population has been facing famine for over three years – and many of them believe that the absence of aid is deliberate. The ecological and environmental damage that the Thar coalfields might wreak must be taken seriously. We cannot let the dictate of profits allow entire communities to be destroyed, nor can we afford to make coal the leading fossil fuel in an already polluted country. Those in charge of the project often say that ‘the people of Thar are the real owners of Thar coal.’ If that is true, then why is their voice being ignored?