KARACHI, Feb 15: While four MPAs belonging to the ruling coalition in Sindh have been nominated as members of the board of governors of the Sindh Coal Authority, the provincial government has yet to complete the authority’s 12-member board by inducting four more members.

The authority will only become fully functional after the nomination of two MNAs from Sindh, and the appointment of two non-official members by the Sindh government.

Official sources said that a letter has been sent to the National Assembly secretariat requesting the authorities concerned to nominate two members of the lower house from Sindh. A response in this regard is still awaited.

Sindh Law Minister Ayaz Soomro hopes that once these formalities are completed, the authority’s board will become functional soon after.

The board of governors of the authority comprises four government officials, four elected members of the Sindh Assembly, two MNAs from Sindh (to be nominated by the Assembly) and two non-official members, most likely technocrats (to be nominated by the Sindh government).

By virtue of their position, four bureaucrats – the additional chief secretary (development), the finance secretary, the mines and minerals secretary and the director-general of the authority – are official members of the board of governors of the SCA.

The Sindh Assembly nominated four MPAs – Sharjeel Memon, Taimur Talpur and Hayat Talpur of the Pakistan People’s Party and Partab Singh of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement – as members of the Sindh Coal Authority’s board during the recently concluded session. No opposition members were nominated.

Although the Sindh Coal Authority is a provincial body, all four MPAs nominated as members of the authority hail from the Thar area. The nomination of the four members from a particular region raised eyebrows amongst lawmakers and citizens, with many people questioning why the government did not include members from other coal-rich districts.

Also, the government’s decision not to include any member from the opposition parties in the house irked the Leader of the Opposition in the Sindh Assembly, Jam Madad Ali, who had accused the government of retracting its promise to nominate opposition MPA Abdul Razaque Rahimoon for a position on the authority’s board. The Sindh Coal Authority was originally established in 1993 to explore, exploit and utilise the vast coal reserves in Sindh, with an added objective of attracting investment for integrated projects.

Technically, the authority is empowered to take all decisions relating to coal development and power generation, in consultation with the provincial and federal agencies. The coal reserves of Sindh have been estimated to be around 185 billion tons in Lakhra, east of the Indus River, and Thar.

In view of the growing shortage of electricity, the government is striving to attract foreign investment for the exploitation of coal reserves, especially in the Thar region. However, this will not be possible without the necessary infrastructure to guarantee the accessibility and availability of coal/lignite.

The infrastructure required includes roads/transport, communications, water and energy utilities, etc. So far, there has been no significant progress with regard to exploitation of Thar coal for increasing power generation in the country.