Thar Desert Rajasthan is a major opium production and consumption area. The Indira Gandhi Canal irrigates northwestern Rajasthan while the Government of India has started a centrally sponsored Desert Development Program based on watershed management with the objective of preventing the spread of desert and improving the living conditions of people in the desert. In the last 15–20 years, the Rajasthan desert has seen many changes, including a manifold increase of both the human and animal population. Animal husbandry has become popular due to the difficult farming conditions. At present, there are ten times more animals per person in Rajasthan than the
Thar Engro Coal Power Project The Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) was formed as a joint venture between Government of Sindh (GoS) and Engro Corporation in October 2009 in order to develop of mining at Thar Coal Block II of the Thar coalfield. In May 2013, a power company in the name of Thar Power Company Ltd. (THARCO) was incorporated as a subsidiary of SECMC with the mandate to develop the first power project based on coal mined by SECMC. As per the JV agreement, Engro is responsible for Project Management and Financing, while GoS for Infrastructural Development and attaining requisite consents and approvals