October 22, 2006	Sunday	Ramazan 28, 1427

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KOHAT, Oct 21: The 45 most underdeveloped villages in Kohat and Karak districts are yet to get any benefit from the Rs1.4 billion royalty earned by the provincial government on profits earned from commercial supply of oil and gas from local reservoirs over the past three years.

Likewise, domestic and foreign oil and gas exploration companies, making millions from the discoveries, have failed to bring about any change in the people’s lives, who had hoped that their lives would change after oil and gas discoveries were made on their lands. The compensation for their land was delayed and negligible facilities were provided against the oil-for-development agreement and that, too, after staging violent protests.

The people are still without heath, education, potable water, gas, roads facilities while there are no job opportunities for which they had been waiting for long. The people are disappointed by the oil companies and government’s attitude.

The government quickly started gas supply of gas to Punjab through the same pipeline in 2003 which used to supply gas to Kohat from the Chanda gasfield in Jand village across the Indus. Now a pipeline is being laid from Gurguri up to Dera Ismail Khan. The pipeline crosses Lakki Marwat, passing through the chief minister’s constituency.

But surprisingly, the provincial government had expressed its ‘inability’ to provide natural gas to Karak, Hangu, Kohat’s frontier region and surrounding areas. Surveys showed that the house-to-house gas supply would cost the government a fraction of what it received in royalty. And the royalty is expected to triple over the next few years. In fact, the government would have to spend nothing out of its own pocket as the cost of gas connections would be recovered in the shape of installation charges and taxes inside of a year.

So far as the royalty is concerned, the local people are legally entitled to get 2.5 per cent of the profits earned by the NWFP government.

During a recent visit, the NWFP chief minister announced Rs50 million for the domestic gas supply project.

Interestingly, commercial supply to the area is continuing since 2003 but the amount promised by the chief minister is yet to materialise despite the fact that the NWFP government received the first installment of oil and gas royalty from Kohat and Karak in the NFC award this year.

The people of these 45 villages could get roads, hospitals, water and gas supply and other amenities if the union councils were paid their share from the royalty.

A private oil company MOL discovered a trillion cubic feet of gas reserves and is pumping 300 barrels of oil from the Gurguri area known as Manzali-1.