Oil and gas exploration areas: unskilled jobs: government asked to prefer local people

A parliamentary panel on Thursday recommended the government to prefer locals for unskilled jobs in oil and gas exploration areas. The sub-committee of the Standing Committee on Petroleum and Natural Resources met here with Malik Ihtebar Khan in the chair to discuss verification of development schemes, roads funded by oil/gas exploration and production companies (through CSR and pother bonuses and royalty).
The issue of skilled and unskilled jobs for the locals was also discussed, besides the government's policy of providing gas facility to the local population of gas fields (within the radius of five kilometres). The meeting was also attended by Akram Khan Durrani and Nasir Khan Khattak.
The committee members said that majority of the oil/gas producing areas were far flung and the locals of the areas were not educated enough as well as they were unskilled, so keeping in view the unemployment situation in those regions the local as well as international exploration and production companies should hire them for unskilled jobs.
The committee expressed concern over ignoring of MNAs belonging to the areas in welfare schemes. Without the consent of local MNAs, welfare schemes were being identified, said Nasir Khan Khattak. The committee also discussed provision of gas to the local residents.