October 12, 2008	Sunday	Shawwal 12, 1429

ISLAMABAD, Oct 11: The Cabinet Division on Saturday withdrew its notification for establishment of the Thar Coal Authority (TCA), approved by Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, due to severe opposition from the Sindh government, sources told Dawn.

The Cabinet Division on July 8 had constituted a seven-member TCA with the Sindh chief minister as its chairman until the appointment of a professional of eminence by the provincial assembly. The minister for water and power was notified as vice-chairman of the TCA. Its member included the deputy chairman of the planning commission, one provincial minister to be nominated by the chief minister, Sindh chief secretary and TCA’s managing director.

The federal government had earlier given the impression as if the TCA had been formed in full consultations with the provincial government in the wake of abolition of the Sindh Coal Authority (SCA) and the Thar Coal Mining Company (TCMC), a joint venture of the federal and provincial governments.

Sources told Dawn that the Sindh government was neither happy with the abolition of the SCA and TCMC nor with the control of TCA’s head office in Karachi by the federal government. It is believed that the government had constituted the TCA in order to take back the Thar coal project from the Private Power and Infrastructure Board (PPIB).

The Sindh government had termed the cabinet division’s notification for TCA as the “most controversial one”.

Also, the Sindh government had issued two notifications on July 22 to establish the Thar Coal and Energy Board (TCED) and enhance the strength of the board’s members by setting aside the notification of the federal government.

The central government was of the view that coal exploration was the right of the provinces, but power generation was a federal subject.