Daily Times

The leaders of Chamber of Mine and Mineral Developers of Nagarparkar have said that they have already got leases to extract China clay and other minerals and termed the registration of two separate FIRs against 23 persons was a cruel joke with those doing their business after completing the legal formalities in the Parkar region of Thar. Addressing the press conference here on Thursday, Wali Mohammad Rahimoon, Rasool Bux Samoon, Ghulam Mohammad Rahimoon, and other leaders of the forum claimed that FIRs registered against 23 people, including three those who had died a long ago, were on false and fabricated charges of occupying the land of the wildlife sanctuary.

They said that there had been more than 125 leases of China Clay issued to different firms and individuals by the department since 1990s and that the lease-holders always paid the rent and royalty on regular basis and that contributed to the income of the government for the past many years.

There are about 20,000 workers employed by the owners of the mines to extract China clay, they added

They deplored that on April 16, a case lodged against 23 persons/leaseholders by Asad Marri, the game officer of the wildlife department under The Sindh Wildlife Protection, Preservation, Conservation and Management Act 2020. There are 4 deceased and processing unit/unit is mentioned as respondent adding they said that all allegations leveled against them were baseless and concocted.

They said that the officials of the wildlife department had not consulted or contacted with the officials of mines and mineral department and never informed the lease holders about the implementation of a new law enacted and enforced recently. The leaders said that an official lodged cases against some selected lease holders but more than 100 lease holders of Chia clay, bentonite, iron, granite and gravel and others were spared on basis of favoritism.

” The personnel of the wildlife department used different tactics and means to harass, demanded bribery, malign the reputation of local and small investors who are peaceful citizens and never committed any crime or violation of law in the past” they added. and said that the high-ups of the department had suspended three staff members (realizing the mistake) who nominated the names of those dead but they had not withdrawn the cases against them.

They urged authorities concerned to take notice of false cases, harassing local lease holders and depress and deprive them from their rights. This was a planned game to marginalize the local small investors and pave the way for the business tycoons from the corporate sector to occupy the resources of the Parkar region because the recently identified presence of resources; gold, iron, bentonite, fire clay and other minerals are valuable and attractive for big investors so, they’re playing tactics and by using the authority using the wildlife department to occupy the area, they noted it with concerns. They leaders asked the government and private banks should also come up with sophisticated plans to technically financially support the local lease holders for processing the minerals at local level and produce finished products and that would create more job opportunities for local unemployed youths.

They requested the high-ups of the Sindh government to take immediate actions and provide facilities to local mine and mineral leaseholders by allotting the industrial area, facilities to process the minerals at the local level which according to them, would ultimately contribute to the prosperity of the area and economy of the area and to whole province and Pakistan.