HYDERABAD: Five Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) parliamentarians have urged oil and gas exploration companies to honour their corporate social responsibility (CSR), accommodate local communities in jobs and spend on the social sector of the area where the firms are busy in exploration in Sindh.

They were addressing a press conference at the residence of PPP MNA from Tando Allahyar Zulfikar Bachani on Sunday. Besides the host, the lawmakers included Shazia Marri from Sanghar, Mir Ghulam Ali Talpur from Badin, Tariq Shah Jamote from Hyderabad rural taluka and Sikandar Rahupoto from Jamshoro.

Zulfikar Bachani started off the press conference with reference to a protest by Thebo community members in Jhando Marri taluka of Tando Allahyar where an oil and gas exploration company sought assistance of Rangers in controlling protesting villagers. “The protesters were harassed when they demanded their rights in line with the CSR,” he alleged, and said that the company management never shared anything with the local community where it was busy in exploration work.

“We are demanding transparency in companies’ work and exploration as well as royalty figures,” he said.

He said the local community should be accommodated in jobs and people from other areas should not be brought to companies. Companies’ machinries had destroyed roads in Tando Allahyar whereas their managements did not comply with superior court’s orders of providing gas within the five-kilometre radius of the exploration site, he added.

‘Oil and gas companies must fulfill commitments under corporate social responsibility’

He said the president of the company that had approached Rangers against protesters should apologise to the community for intimidating them. The company should allow increment in lease of land of the villagers, accommodate locals in vocational training centres and provide gas to people within five-kilometre radius of the exploration site.

He threatened to lead a protest if the firm failed to fulfil the demands.

He said scope of the protest could be widened if things did not improve on the part of these companies.

70pc of Pakistan’s gas comes from Sindh

Shazia Marri said the Article 158 of the Constitution was self-explanatory as to gas exploration. She said Sindh met 70 per cent of Pakistan’s gas production regardless of the fact that it did not get its own share to meet gas needs but the province continued to make such contribution in national spirit.

She said that when a landowner or the community reminded the company of the CSR, Rangers were called in. Rangers being the federal agency could act only in pursuance of Sindh government’s directive instead of acting on their own, she observed.

She said the company had made its own operation controversial by seeking Rangers’ assistance when police were there. Movement of companies’ heavy machinries destroyed roads in Sanghar which were recently built whereas commitments made under the CSR were just insufficient, she added.

Such indifference could not be tolerated, she said, reminding the company that they were guests in Sindh. She said the companies worked in their own benefit or for governments, but the benefits must trickle down to the local communities.

She urged the federal government to take notice of Rangers’ action. She said the companies should contribute towards training of locals and development of the area.

She said the PPP had given an oil and gas policy which protected locals’ rights. These companies had some commitments to honour ethically, but they desisted, she said.

Ms Marri said the educated officers of the companies should respect the local communities. Expressing concern over the Tando Allahyar incident, she said that today it was the Thebo community, tomorrow some other people could face the situation. She cautioned that ‘dictatorial’ approach would not be tolerated and if it came to retaliation, the PPP would support the villagers.

She also chided the director general of petroleum concession (DGPC), saying that a monopoly of that office existed and it should make amends, too.

She said the companies must disclose figures of oil or gas production in different districts and share them with respective landowners.

Badin MNA Mir Ghulam Ali Talpur said situation did not change in his area since Union Texas was converted to British Petroleum. Such companies earned millions of rupees but the local communities remained hand to mouth and did not get jobs. Multinational companies signed accords with stakeholders and honoured them in other areas but that was not the case in Sindh, he noted.

No transparency

He pointed out that an ad hoc approach was adopted by the companies and no transparency was seen in their affairs. He said locals were not interested in profits of the company, but they wanted to know the quantum of oil and gas being explored and how many jobs were given to the community. He said the community was concerned about the CSR and nothing else.

MNA Syed Hussain Tariq recalled how he handled a law and order situation created by the Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) a couple of years ago and its management made some commitments, including establishment of school, provision of bus service etc. only to forget them.

He said the entire road infrastructure was destroyed by the OGDCL and a partner company in his constituency which was usually built by the provincial government. His estimate showed that the OGDC earned Rs90m every day yet, he deplored, it was not ready to impart education to the community of the area.

He warned the companies against taking things to the point of no return as people were losing patience. He said the parliamentarians were not demanding anything for themselves, but for the uplift of the area where exploration was under way.

Jamshoro’s MNA Sikandar Rahupoto made similar claims pointing out that some half a dozen companies were exploring oil and gas in his constituency. He said his questions in the National Assembly were not properly answered.

Published in Dawn, September 28th, 2020