KARACHI, Oct 30: Sindh Chief Minster Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim has said that he will lead the alliance against the Pakistan People’s Party in the coming general elections in Sindh.

Talking to newsmen after inaugurating an international symposium here on Tuesday, Dr Arbab said that PPP chairperson considered him a challenge to her party in Sindh and that was why she was issuing strong remarks against him.

He alleged that the PPP intended to plunder the exchequer, adding that the provincial government was at present keeping Rs7 billion and the district governments Rs17 billion in the reserve from the 2007-08 budget. The Sindh government had Rs30 billion in reserve as of the end of the previous fiscal, he said.

Earlier, addressing the “International Symposium on Sindh Coal Mining: Challenges and Success”, the chief minister said that some lobbies close to President General Pervez Musharraf did not want coal-based power generation to get a boost. “That’s why the National Electrical Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) is reluctant to allow up-front tariff to encourage IPPs,” he argued.

According to him, failure to grasp the opportunity provided by the Shenhua Group of China and pursuing a rigid power policy appeared to be the factors leading one to believe that there are vested interests who, despite the president’s keen efforts towards development of coal-based energy, are out to create hurdles in generating more than 30 per cent energy from coal by 2010.

He said that the experience at Lakhra, the LCDC and coal-fired power plant, the abandonment of the remaining area of Lakhra for the development of coal-fired power plants were discouraging factors vis-à-vis giving a boost to the coal-based energy in the province.

Demanding amendments to the National Power Policy and a more active role for the Thar Coal Task Force, Dr Arbab said it was a misconception that Sindh had not done enough for the development of its resources. In this context, he pointed out that over Rs3 billion had been invested in Thar development projects and many MoUs and agreements had been signed over the past few years for the development of coal-based power generation.

However, the uncertainty over tariff was the main bottleneck, he added.