The farmers of the areas of Patti Sultam Mehmood, wandar Sharqi, Wandar Gharbi and adjoining mauzas of Tehsil Chowk Munda, District Muzaffargarh are on the verge of losing their land possession and means of living at the hands of the Interim Government. This area is only about 20 kilometers from Multan Cantonment situated on the other side of river Chenab on the Muzaffargarh-Jhang highway.
This area is the Southern end of Thal desert that has great potential for development in the near future being a stone’s throw from the heart of Multan mega city. The farmers of the area have braved severe weather and most difficult living conditions to bring greenery to the area and have only just started reaping the benefits of their toil.
The main crops grown in the area are Wheat, Barley and Chana. The yield of Wheat in the area is 30-45 maunds per acre thereby affording an earning of Rs.120,000/ per acre at the minimum from one crop alone.
The Caretaker government has been quietly and clandestinely working to oust the poor farmers of the area from their valued and only possession on the pretext of establishing a Solar Park. The affectees have not been informed, taken into confidence or even consulted on this crucial matter that potentially would leave them homeless, landless, jobless and penniless. The scheme is to hoodwink the poor farmers in the name of development without any benefit accruing to poor farmers.
The acquisition price has not been divulged to the affected farmers and all the proceedings have been clandestinely carried out to stall any reaction from the poor farmers who would very shortly be unable to feed their children because a fancy development project by a caretaker government has been cooked up to eject the owners of the land from their prized and life-sustaining pieces of land.
There are plenty of undeveloped desert areas of the country suited for Solar energy projects. The ones that immediately come to mind are the Cholistan desert and other barren areas of Southern Punjab, but the area next to Multan has been chosen with a sinister purpose keeping in mind the potential land value of the area. This, despite the fact that there is government land available in the vicinity of selected area and indeed elsewhere in the ccoutry that can be utilized for constructing Solar parks.
The questions that come to mind are:-
1. Is it legal/ethical for an interim government to undertake such projects of far reaching adverse consequences for the poor farmers and agricultural output of the country?
2. Why barren areas are not considered for solar park?
3. Why there is secrecy surrounding this project?
4. Why price negotiations have not been carried out with the affected poor farmers?
5. On whose behalf is the caretaker government usurping this land.
And lastly, who is/are going to be real beneficiaries of the heavy-handed land grabbing by the Interim government.
The selection of this prized area for a solar project has many unanswered questions and must be abandoned for future sustenance and prosperity of the affected land owners.