MUZAFFARGARH: A survey for installation of two 660MW coal-fired plants in Mahmoodkot areas of Kot Addu tehsil will start from Tuesday (tomorrow).

This was stated by District Coordination Officer Hafiz Shaukat Ali here on Sunday while talking to people from mauzas of Verar Sipra, Rao Bela Sharqi, Gujrat and Budh.

He said Kot Addu Power Company officials would carry out the study. He said UK international teams would conduct environmental tests and “if there are some hazards the project will be shifted to other places.”

Earlier, people and politicians had opposed the project.

The DCO said he had sent all demands of locals, including attractive rates of land, to respective authorities for acquisition.

He said payment would be made to the people prior to the construction of the plant.

Some people seemingly agreed to DCO’s proposals. Locals Malik Shoaib Budh and Malik Niaz said a colony should be built for the landless people.

Sources said in October when survey teams visited the area a number of people attacked them and the district administration registered a case against 150 ‘assailants.’

The DCO said the FIR was sealed on Wednesday. He asked the people to form a committee of locals for making suggestions.

During the course of the announcement of the project, Chinese teams had come to the area for a week but the DCO did not give permission to them to visit the site.

Kapco and CMEC-Pak-Gen are planning plants on the fertile and waterlogged farms of these areas. Besides displacement of hundreds of people, the installation of plants may create serious environmental hazardous for the entire district.

A Kapco official said all basic rights such as job, hospital, school, road and park, would be given to locals. MNA Jamshed Dasti is against the installations of coal plants in the midst of villages. “Kapco and CMEC-Pak-Gen are located in thickly populated areas,” he said.

Rana Mahboob Akhtar, a retired civil servant, has raised some technical points.

He said bagasse and coal-fired plant in Sinawan (120MW), a nuclear plant in Kot Addu (1,000MW), coal unit by Kapco (660MW) and coal plant by CMEC-Pak-Gen (660MW) would make the total proposed capacity at 2,540MW.

“Once existing and under-construction plants are operational, the total generation will be 6,252MW. Concentrating more than 50 per cent of Pakistan’s thermal generation capacity in the radius of 28 kilometres is a strategic blunder,” he said.

Other than power plants, Mid Country Oil Refinery of Parco, and JIMCO oil installations are also located in Mahmoodkot furthering environmental issues, he said.

“On the other hand, DHQ hospital data shows a ‘significant’ rise in cancer, skin diseases, asthma, liver and eye ailments in the area,” Akhtar said.

Agriculturist Malik Khair Muhammad Budh had recently held meeting of locals at Aliabad where people discussed the issue with the DCO.

Later talking to Dawn, union council chairman-elect Akhtar Noon said: “Coal-fired plants are being dismantled all over the world. I will oppose the project.”

Published in Dawn, December 28th, 2015