I believe that royalty is the return or reward in the shape of area development and personal growth; and embarking upon environmental hazards by a company to the local people/owners of the land where such companies incite their operation and get benefits hale and hearty. The oil and gas sector is said to be one of the largest and most beneficial sectors of the world and countries with such natural wealth are reckoned to be the richest and most developed ones. Unfortunately, in Pakistan, this sector always remained controversial, and badly impinges on the lives of local masses financially, environmentally, and morally. There are so many oil and gas exploration and production companies that are functioning in the country since the first ever discovery of these vital natural resources way back in the late 1980s, but the thing which is missing in this whole scenario is the lack of execution in carrying out community-cooperative responsibilities. Even after an occupancy of more than 20 years, not a single oil and gas company thought enthusiastically about changing the living standards of local inhabitants of the remotest and most backward regions; where they operates and explore natural resources. District Badin is the one of the largest oil and gas contributing districts of the country but, unfortunately, the living standards of the local people in this district are not different from the people of far-flung African villages. In this fast and advanced century, the people of this land still find themselves far away from many basic necessities of life. They don’t have metalled roads; their children have to walk for many kilometres to reach their schools; their females, children and aged people have no health facilities; they still drink unhealthy and unsafe water; and pregnant mothers as well infants still die of nutritional deficiencies. Even in the concession areas of these oil and gas exploration and production companies, if the people are dying of unavailability of food supplements and other basic health facilities, then how can the whole district have any advantage or benefit from such companies? There happens to be a fund in the hands of district government with a separate bank account for the purpose of taking development initiatives for the local people, but not a single penny is utilized till today for the nominated cause and, carelessly, they also do not feel accountable to the nation. I think that if these stored funds could be utilized correctly, then the education, health, transportation, and many other needs of the locals could be met sustainably. Despite exploration and production of petroleum, gas, coal and other natural resources on a large scale, why are the condition of the local people becoming nastier day by day? Where does the whole share of this so-called ‘royalty’ go? Why are the local people ignored even for jobs in these oil and gas companies? Who will pay for making the local climate insalubrious? These are some common but serious questions which need to be answered by the heads of these oil and gas companies, local/district level administrations, and the entities which are responsible to monitor and control the work of such companies at all levels. In Pakistan, the oil and gas sector has always remained controversial, and badly disturbs the financial, environmental, and moral aspects of the lives of local masses, whose living conditions deteriorate day by day I have listened to people whispering on social media about the President’s carelessness and shyness regarding taking notice of anything erroneous going on in the state. Whereas the Prime Minister is busy solving matters of his own interest. In this state of uncertainty and caretakers, how can a common citizen think of finding the solution of common matters? It is a kind request to the oil, gas and coal entities working in the country that they must think about sharing the advantages and benefits accrued from their explorations and production activities with the locals. Moreover, the government — especially the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources, and the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority — should introduce a strong mechanism to monitor and observe the behaviour/role of these companies in terms of benefit to the public, and convince these companies to strictly follow their corporate social responsibilities (CSR). Published in Daily Times, September 11th 2017.