MUZAFFARGARH: Hundreds of protesters blocked Multan Road against the proposed coal power project on their farmland in six villages along the Muzaffargarh-Kot Addu Road though 18,000 acres of the state land was lying vacant.

They blocked the road for two hours. They demanded the government utilise state land at Rakh Khanpur village which was all desert instead of using their cultivable land.

Farmers warned of launching a civil disobedience movement if the plan was not changed.

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had announced setting up of six coal-powered energy stations in Punjab and one of them was in Muzaffargarh’s Sadhan Wali village. For the project, 6,000 acres have been earmarked, belonging to farmers.

“Life ends for my family if the land which I have been cultivating since my childhood is taken away,” said Arshad Leghari of Jamaat-i-Islami, who owned land at Kotla Leghari village, having 30,000 residents while Umer Budh village had the population of 2,5000.

Officials said the Punjab government had a plan to set up two coal energy power stations there and the land was chosen because the coal projects needed railway line, canal water and a nearby powerhouse.

However, local farmers, including Muzamil Husain, Ahmad Ali and Akram Budh, said the state land had all the said facilities near the Muzaffargarh Thermal Power Plant, including canal water and railway line.

The revenue officials collected the data of farmers and land owners to give them Rs600,000 per acre compensation which was lesser than the market price.

Farmers said the market value of land was 1.8 million per acre, adding they would move the court to make the government shift projects to some other place.

Protesters said why the government did not shift thermal power of coal to other places as the first design covered only Sadhan Wali and revenue officials had been ordered to prepare a map of 6,000 acres land along the Muzaffargarh and Kot Addu roads, adding villages of Budh, Sardarabad, Umer Budh, Shareef Budh, Fatoi Budh, Bagh Ali Cholistan, Sher Wala and Rodan Wala and Fazil Karloo and Kotla.

DCO Hafiz Shaukat Ali sent Assistant Commissioner Sajjad Hasnain and tehsildar Sahibzada Zaffar Maharvi to meet the protesters for negotiations.

Some farmers’ representatives also met the DCO and told him about their issue.

Deputy Secretary Power Muhammad Shakeel said there would be no pollution because of modern treatment plants and the investors would buy land from farmers according to market value of land.