Provincial Govt To Protect Local Communities Along Proposed Route Of TAPI Pipeline

Balochistan government has pledged to ensure complete safety of the local communities on whose land proposed TAPI pipeline corridor will pass through

KARACHI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th May, 2018 ) :Balochistan government has pledged to ensure complete safety of the local communities on whose land proposed TAPI pipeline corridor will pass through.

According to a communication received here on Friday provincial government authorities addressing a workshop held in Quetta, as part of on ongoing Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) study for Pakistan-section of the proposed TAPI gas pipeline project,cited the scheme to be a good omen for Balochistan's development.

"Communities and people of Balochistan would simultaneously become ultimate beneficiaries of the project," Abdul Saboor Kakar, provincial secretary for environment was quoted to have said. The provincial level scoping workshop was organized by M/s.

Environmental Management Consultants (EMC) Pakistan,the local associate of international consortium of consultants M/s. MAB, M/s. Naftec and M/s. Jacobs working on ESIA of total 1,814 kilometres-long Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project.

Balochistan Secretary for Environment said the project has to be built in accordance to the country's energy requirements with equal attention towards safety as well as protection of the interest of the local communities of the province.

He re-emphasized that pipeline should be constructed in the manner that local communities may remain fully safe. Abdul Sabook Kakar said the best way to mitigate any negative environmental impacts of the pipeline could be tree plantation and greenery all along the route of gas pipeline corridor that would pass through Balochistan.

A way to generate livelihood for people of local communities is to establish nurseries of local species of plants and trees all along the corridor route of TAPI pipeline in Balochistan, he added.

Secretary for Environment emphasized that construction of gas pipeline should fully ensure protection of grazing areas for the farm animals as a sizable number of the local communities along the proposed route of TAPI in Balochistan have to depend upon livestock rearing, the sole mean of their livelihood.

He said that gas pipeline project must also be built in a manner that it would have an inter-connection with existing or under-construction trade and communication corridors in the province as part of CPEC so to make this project fully secure.

Kakar said it would be preferable that construction of gas pipeline project must envisage a proper CSR (corporate social responsibility) initiative for local communities. Such an investment from proponents of the project should lead to the launching of projects related to water supply, health, and education services for the benefit of impoverished local people, he said.

He also suggested that instead of paying land acquisition compensation to the affected people who do not have the record of rights of their land, the same amount should be invested to launch projects of collective welfare in the area.

The provincial secretary said land compensation given without presentation of proper record of rights only led to protracted legal and court battles among rival members of the family claiming ownership of the same piece of native land.

Therefore instead of paying compensation in such cases, which would only generate conflict over ownership of the land, it is better to invest on projects of collective welfare in the affected areas, he said.

He said that project should also take into account seismic fault lines, which ran all along the proposed corridor route of TAPI project in Balochistan. Highlighting additional importance of the project, he said TAPI gas pipeline will also be important in establishing a communication link between Pakistan and the Central Asian Republics.

Tariq Zehri, Director-General of Balochistan Environmental Protection Agency, said that construction of TAPI project should ensure plantation of at least 100 million trees all along the proposed pipeline corridor, passing through the province.

He said that construction of the project as a by-product would ensure socio-economic empowerment of local communities especially that of women. The more we will invest on human resource development of local communities the more will we render this project safe and secured, he was quoted to have said.

Zehri said gas pipeline project must evolve its own fire-fighting and emergency response system all along its route in Balochistan as in no way the regular fire brigade service of the local municipalities could be relied upon in case of any eventuality.

EPA- Balochistan chief said pipeline project must also have its own proper waste disposal system to minimize damage to the land and physical environment of the selected areas of Balochistan. Asif Shuja Khan, former Director General of Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency, currently serving as chief operating officer of EMC Pakistan, informed the audience that out of 825 kilometers Pakistan section of TAPI pipeline, 400 km-portion of the project would pass through Balochistan.

The pipeline will enter at Pakistan-Afghanistan border through Chaman in Balochistan, which will end at Pakistan-India border near Fazilka in Punjab, he said. The route of the pipeline was said to include Chaman, Killa Abdullah, Pishin, Ziarat, Loralai and Musakhel in Balochistan.

Syed Nadeem Arif, Managing Director of EMC Pakistan on the occasion said four separate environment related studies were being undertaken for the TAPI project one each for Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India.

He said that each of these environmental studies of the project would comply with local and international environmental standards including the regulations set by leading global financial institutions to assess the environmental, socio-economic, and community health components of major developmental projects.

This among other regulations will also include performance standards of International Finance Corporation. Saquib Ejaz Hussain, Project Manager for EMC Pakistan, said that route of the TAPI project would be finalized once the ESIA study report are submitted to the governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan later this year.

He said our aim is to minimize the displacement of population and according to the initial assessment, only 20 building structures in Balochistan will come across the route of the Gas pipeline. Responding to queries, he was quoted to had assured that pipeline route will be diverted from Ziarat to save Juniper forests in the province.