A small coal power plant at Moza Khaira and Sultan Pura near BRB Canal has been scrapped. A law officer told the court on Tuesday that identical petitions filed by individuals and the Lahore Press Club had challenged the construction because of health hazards. Law officer Shan Gull on a court query said a notification would be issued soon.
The petitioners' Counsel, Azhar Siddique, told the bench that the Punjab government intended to acquire the land 1188 kanal and 5 Marla land in Moza Khaira and Sultan Pura to establish Small Coal Power Project. He said the coal power projects were abandoned projects across the world and had been considered as a technology which was not feasible to the human beings. He said the land proposed to be acquired was located within the newly declared residential area and close to Lahore Press Club Housing Society.
The coal fired power plants could not possibly be allowed to be located within a residential area of the society. He said the government's act was directly violation of Articles 9, 14, 38 of the Constitution and court was bound to implement the fundamental rights. He argued that the recent heat in Karachi that claimed over lives of over thousands people was due to coal power plant working in Rajasthan (India).