LAHORE: The Alliance for Climate Justice and Clean Energy (ACJCE), a coalition of civil society organisations, rejected a petition submitted to the Thar Coal and Energy Board (TCEB) for the revision of coal tariff and expansion of mining in Thar Coalfield Block-II (TCB-II).

In a statement, ACJCE urged policymakers, regulators, the media and the public to recognise the grave implications of unchecked coal expansion. It said that his was not only an environmental issue, but a broad question of economic justice, legal accountability and public welfare.

The statement further said the petition seeks to increase annual coal extraction from 7.6 million tonnes to 11.2 million tonnes and raise coal tariff substantially.

ACJCE claimed the petition had deep-rooted legal, procedural, environmental, and financial deficiencies.

Claims it has legal, procedural, environmental and financial deficiencies

The alliance said, “If accepted, the petition will violate constitutional guarantees, erode regulatory integrity and shift unjustified burdens onto consumers and local communities. Its acceptance will further entrench Pakistan’s reliance on coal in defiance of the country’s climate commitments under the Paris Agreement”.

The statement said the expansion of coal mining in Thar would severely undermine the rights of Pakistan’s citizens to healthy, clean and sustainable environment guaranteed by the 26th amendment to the Constitution.

It said, “Given that coal mining and coal-based power generation have already damaged Thar’s precarious water resources, any expansion in mining activity will only increase the speed and intensity of this damage.”

It claimed the petition had failed to include critical documentation such as updated feasibility studies, environmental and social impact assessments (ESIA), details of engineering and procurement contracts, financing term sheets, and evidence of public consultation. “The absence of these disclosures not only contravenes transparency, it also renders the petition legally untenable and susceptible to regulatory capture,” the alliance said.

Similarly, it said the petition had failed to assess or disclose the broader environmental implications such as deeper resource extraction, intensified dewatering, increased waste generation, and further land acquisition.

The statement also questioned the legality of diverting Thar coal to the industries other than power generation. It argued that the land for Thar coalfield was acquired for a specific public purpose — to set up mine-to-mouth electricity production plants.

“Any change in the coal’s end use constitutes a material alteration of that public purpose and therefore violates the land acquisition law,” it claimed.

The alliance called on the Thar Coal and Energy Board to reject the petition unless and until the petitioner submitted all the required documentation and ensured full legal, environmental and financial disclosure and compliance.

Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2025