THARPARKAR: Civil society activists and residents of the Thar coal project areas have expressed satisfaction with the draft Thar Coal Resettlement Policy Framework prepared by the Coal and Energy Development Department, while urging the authorities to ensure it is properly implemented.
The dialogue on the framework was organised by the Thar Coal Action Network, a network of community-based coal action committees in Tharparkar.
Speakers urged the authorities to halt all Thar coal project activities until the resettlement policy framework was finalised. If the work continued, they said, locals would go to court.
“The Thar Coal Resettlement Policy Framework is yet to be approved, but the authorities have already started work, which is a clear violation of the policy document,” said Kuldeep Parwani. He said they had also learnt that a land acquisition officer had been hired for this purpose.
“We have no further objections or reservations about the draft resettlement policy. We only seek assurance that it will be followed,” said Advocate Munawar Sagar. He said they would file a petition in court if they found the authorities were not going to follow the policy, or had started work before the policy was approved.
Hafiz Abdul Ghani said: “Out of Tharparkar district’s total area of 19,638 square kilometres, the Thar coal project area covers 9,100 square kilometres, nearly 50 per cent of its geographical area. The Thar Coal Resettlement Policy Framework is designed to guide the project’s land acquisition, compensation and resettlement process.”
Social activist Kumar Jhangi said: “The draft Thar coal resettlement policy follows and focuses on only one law, the Land Acquisition Act, while other national and international laws are not discussed or are ignored.” He said there should be a clear action plan before work began, and that the entire resettlement and rehabilitation process must be fair and transparent.
Nawaz Faqeer said that because of the low literacy rate and poor communication, locals would lose their traditional sources of income, and there was a dire need to set up vocational and technical institutes. He said the coal authorities must show zero tolerance for violations of locals’ employment rights.
A D Bajeer said the proposed framework had taken into account all potential risks, including landlessness, joblessness, homelessness, marginalisation, food insecurity, loss of resources, ill health and social disintegration. He urged civil society activists and the government to hold the companies accountable.
Deedar Hussain Bajeer said affected locals from the coal area should be adequately represented, suggesting two people from each coal block. He added that many cultural and historical sites fell within the coal project area, so the Culture Department should also be made part of the policy.
Speakers urged the authorities concerned to publish all these policies in Sindhi, the local language, to help residents understand the process and the resettlement plan and avoid confusion. They said the Sindh government, and especially Thar’s elected representatives and opposition leaders, should take up the issue on a priority basis and make the documents available to the public in the local language.
Ismail Bajeer, Maharaj Kirpal, Muhammad Akram, Mukesh Raja, Advocate Khadim Ali Shah, Mubarak Bajeer, Ghazi Khan, Imam Ali Janjhi and others also spoke on the occasion.