Thar coal mine: Villagers demanding compensation for forced acquisition of land

ISLAMKOT: Although Tharparkar, one of the most underdeveloped and drought-prone districts, starts lighting up the country, no letup in the miseries of ‘black gold’ custodians, who are now protesting for compensation against the forced acquisition of land for mining and power plant construction.

During a media trip to Tharparkar, organised by Pakistan FisherFolk Forum (PFF), discussions were held with the villagers living near and around Block I & II, who expressed disenchantment over the attitude shown by the Sindh government and other relevant authorities to address their issues related to compensation, livelihood, dislocation, etc.

The villagers living in WarWai and other nearby villages located in the Block I, where mining has started, alleged the Sindh government and other relevant authorities for pressurising them through illegal detentions to acquire land for mining and power projects, forcibly.

They said that around 450 families were residing in 16 different villages located in Block I and as per agreement the authorities would pay Rs4.25 million to each family for acquiring 1650 acres land (838 acres grazing land) besides providing all basic amenities including schools, hospital, houses, etc.

“However, the authorities have paid only 50 percent compensation to 30 families only. We have been waiting for compensation amount for over a year but the authorities instead of fulfilling their promise started harassing us through local police, who were taking inhabitants into custody illegally and pressurising us for forced dislocation in order to avoid detentions. On the other hand, the assistant commissioner has also started serving eviction notices over the violation of the agreement, which has not been materialised so far,” they lamented.

The whole area located in Block I has been fenced and the authorities have declared it as a no-go area for the displaced population, they added.

“We are not against the coal mining and power plant construction but the attitude shown by the authorities has made it a ‘survival issue’ for us and if our issues were not addressed, we have no option but to resist.”

The residents of the model village developed at New Senhri Dars by Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) also complained that the inferior quality materials were used in the construction of the houses, which failed to sustain last monsoon, adding that the company did not transfer the ownership of the houses.

The world’s seventh largest coal reserves located in Thar are being used for fulfilling the country’s energy requirements but due to ineffective arrangements for the economic well-being of the affected population, countless problems have been surfaced for the local population.

The inhabitants of Gorano and other 12 villages, who are affected with mine-water discharged during coal mining in Block II, claimed that lack of effective planning to mitigate the effects on the environment before releasing mine-water to Gorano reservoir is causing well water contamination and destruction of all grazing land.

They said that the company did not provide any compensation to the inhabitants living nearby Gorano reservoir.

“The mine-water reservoir has to be established a kilometre away from the settlements but Gorano reservoir was built within the radius of one kilometre hence water wells of nearby villages have turned brackish and overflowed when mine-water discharged in the reservoir because sandy soil soaked up this untreated water”.

The inhabitants of the most affected Suleiman Barber village, which is hardly 300 yards away from the mine-water reservoir, requested the authority concerned to look into the matter because they have to travel around 2 km daily to collect drinking water, due to the said reason.

PFF chairman Muhammad Ali Shah said: “The ongoing land acquisition for coal power projects has dislocated thousands of local families from their ancestral villages and is alienating them from their agricultural fields, grazing lands and livelihood sources, resulting in atrocious forms of social injustice and poverty”.

Lal Baksh, a resident of Gorano village said that the initiatives taken by the coal company were not yielding fruits because they were unaware of the ground realities.

For example they built a school in New Senhri Dars but we are unable to send our children there because it is 35 km away from Gorano and there is no bus service, he said.

“Similarly, they planned to utilise mine-water reservoir for fish farming and tourism but due to improper geo-mapping of the area, this good initiative has turned our lives miserable,” he added.

Meanwhile, SECMC said that the model village at New Senhri Dars was created in close consultation with the Senhri Dars community. There were various community mobilisation sessions that were done to ensure that the locals were involved in the process at each stage.

Moreover, a model house was also first created to help the locals understand the proposed structure. The current model village was also constructed by the local contractors themselves as part of company’s strategy to provide economic opportunities to the community. There were more than 170 households constructed some required minor upgrades which were duly provided.

It said that they had provided them with possession letter as the legal ownership would be given by the Sindh government after following the due process which was currently underway and expected that the legal transfer would be completed by end of 2021.

SECMC dispelled the local claims regarding water contamination, saying that there was no evidence regarding groundwater contamination around Gorano reservoir. On the contrary, as per authentic laboratory tests conducted by third party auditors, water quality of wells installed around Gorano reservoir has remained unchanged and no evidence found of toxic and chemical substance in the water samples as the water being released in Gorano reservoir is just groundwater that doesn’t go through any industrial process. Growing fish successfully is an evidence of water being fit for aquatic life, it added.

To a question, SECMC replied that the Sindh government had already approved payment of Rs100,000 per household for the villages in 1km radius of Gorano reservoir, which was further ratified by the cabinet and the requisite funds had been allocated; adding that they were now awaiting further approval from the local DC office after which the amounts would be transferred to the local residents.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021