Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Saturday directed that the pace of implementation of the SC judgment of October 6 be expedited in letter and spirit.
Gilani was chairing a high-level meeting that reviewed the pace of implementation of the Supreme Court judgment regarding law and order in Karachi. The meeting was attended by Sindh Governor Ishratul Ebad, Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah, Senior Minister Pir Mazharul Haq, Law Minister Ayaz Soomro, the chief secretary, IG police, advocate general, legal expert Dr Farogh Naseem and Law Secretary Qazi Khalid.
Speaking at the International Coal Conference 2011 jointly organised by Coal and Energy Department of Sindh and Sindh Board of Investment earlier, Gilani said the government had added 3,400MW to the national power grid during last three years through various short and medium term measures. The prime minister said the country was facing an overwhelming task of bridging its energy demand and supply gap that was likely to double in the next 15 years.
“Development of local energy sources, including hydel projects and the Thar coalfields, remains a high priority for the present government,” he said. He said the objective of his participation in the energy moot was to convey the commitment of the democratic government for the successful development of the Thar Coal Project.
Gilani said the project was extremely crucial as Thar held coal reserves of 175 billion tonnes, certified by the world renowned companies and experts as technically feasible and viable for power generation. “Thar coal deposit is the seventh largest in the world and the largest at one place having potential of power generation of 100,000MW for 300 years,” the prime minister said.
Gilani said the economy needed reliable, uninterrupted, and affordable supply of energy to achieve accelerated GDP growth rate and reduce poverty. He said the government had initiated the mega project of “Diamer-Bhasha Dam that would be built at a cost of around $12 billion. “The project is a life-line for national economy and its construction would also enhance the life of Tarbela Dam by over 35 years,” he added.
