The Sindh government’s flagship project in the renewable energy sector, Sindh Solar Energy Project (SSEP), will affect 27 households and 150 acres of agricultural land in Karachi for the construction of two solar parks.
The provincial government has allocated Rs153.53 million to compensate those who will be affected by the project. But will this compensation be enough? And will the impoverished communities living near the proposed solar parks benefit from them on an equitable basis? This story is meant to explore these questions.
Dr Khalid Waleed from the Sustainable Development Policy Institute believes that benefitting the local communities must be a key part of the spirit of any renewable energy project. The right to consume energy first rests with the locals, he says.
The SSEP is a World Bank-funded initiative, first reflected in the 2017-18 Sindh budget with the name of Sindh Renewable Energy Development Project. The project’s estimated cost is USD 102 million, of which the Sindh government’s share is USD 2 million and the rest is the World Bank’s loan.
Any transition to alternative energy models must be welcomed, but precautionary steps must also be taken to ensure that they do not cause injustice or result in the loss of livelihood. Most importantly, according to the World Bank’s guidelines, the benefits from such projects must be shared on the principle of equity.
According to the project’s revised PC-1, it has four components:
Component I (USD 15 million): This component is a utility-scale solar project with a power generation target of at least 400 megawatts (MW). Initially, a 50MW project will be developed in Jamshoro district’s Manjhand taluka, followed by two additional solar parks in Deh Halkani and Deh Bund Murad in Karachi’s District West, and Deh Mitha Gar in District Malir under the Alternative and Renewable Energy Policy 2019.
The K-Electric (KE) will serve as the off-taker for the solar parks in Karachi. The District Malir solar park will produce 120 MW, whereas, the District West solar park will produce 120 MW. The solar park in Jamshoro will produce 50 MW, whose off-taker will be the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Hesco).
Component II (USD 50 million): This component is a distributed solar project with a target of at least 50MW through rooftop solar systems that will be installed on public buildings in Sindh, such as administrative, community, educational, healthcare, religious, and social buildings. This includes buildings owned by autonomous bodies, semi-government entities and public corporations under the administrative control of the Sindh government. Humanitarian and social sector buildings managed by non-profit organisations, trusts or independent bodies may also be considered and used, subject to approval.
Component III (USD 33 million): Under this component, solar home systems will be provided to approximately 200,000 households in Sindh as part of an affordable off-grid solution.
Component IV (USD 3 million): Two laboratories will be established at the NED University and Mehran University for technical assistance, capacity building and monitoring of solar energy systems.
Additionally, 900 individuals, one from each of Sindh’s 30 districts and each union council, will receive solar technician training. Of these 900 trainees, 50 per cent will be women.
In this story, The Citizenry’s focus in on the Component I of the project.
ARAP Study
An Abbreviated Resettlement Plan (ARAP) was prepared for the solar parks to be established in District West and District Malir in Karachi as people have been living on the land acquired for these parks. In contrast, the solar park land in Jamshoro was completely vacant with no dwellers, so no ARAP study was required there.
The ARAP also contains details of how the project will be operated. It states that the KE will aid the SSEP in developing the parks and operating them, and provide them with a loop-in and loop-out transmission line system to effectively wheel the electricity generated into the existing network.
Speaking to The Citizenry, Sindh Energy Department Director of Alternative Energy Mehfooz A. Qazi said the parks will be operated by an independent power producer (IPP) from which the KE will purchase the power. The KE, he said, will also lay a 15-kilometre transmission line for the project, for which it has already received approval from the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra).
When asked why the approval was not sought from the provincial power regulatory authority, Sepra, he said that when the project was conceived, Sepra was not functional. As per the Nepra Procurement Regulations 2022, all distribution companies must obtain Nepra’s approval for a new transmission line and tariff.
He said 18 companies participated in the bidding process on September 30. The process is being evaluated, and the tender for laying the transmission line will be awarded by next month.
Regarding the persons to be displaced, the ARAP document states that the Sindh government tasked the EMC Private Limited with conducting a study for the solar parks in District West and District Malir. According to the study, 1,212 acres of land have been acquired from the Sindh Board of Revenue in Karachi’s District West (612 acres) and District Malir (600 acres) for the construction of solar parks.
Qazi explained that for renewable projects, the Directorate of Alternative Energy acquired land from the provincial Board of Revenue under the ‘Statement of Conditions of Land Allotment Policies for Renewable Projects, 2015.’ (The Citizenry could not find this policy document available online).
However, after acquiring the land, if there has to be any displacement, it must be handled by the guidelines of international financial institutions. For this, the ARAP was prepared. The provincial government’s Resettlement and Rehabilitation Policy 2022 also serves as the guiding document in this case.
The ARAP study for the solar park in District West kicked off on June 25, 2024. According to the study, there are four households in Deh Halkani and Deh Bund Murad and 16 pucca structures that include five fully constructed residential structures, eight partially constructed residential structures, one commercial structure and two religious structures.
Of the 16 structures identified, only four were claimed by the four households in the area, whereas no one claimed the remaining structures. The report said there is no loss of employment in these two dehs, as their occupants “are not involved in working on the land belonging to the sub-project area and instead work as laborers nearby.”
The proposed solar park land in Deh Mitha Ghar in District Malir spanned a total area of 600 acres. Except for 18 acres of private land in the form of three separate survey numbers, the provincial government owns the rest.
The ARAP states that for the private land, the provincial energy department has decided not to acquire it and has completely removed it from the site development plan. This will also not affect its accessibility.
A detailed census survey in the area started on June 27, 2024. It identified 23 households, including 17 agricultural workers and six agricultural land “encroachers,” on 150 acres of agricultural land. The report said that out of 23, six persons claimed to be in charge of the agricultural land (not legal land owners), five of whom were open to the survey, and one refused to cooperate despite interventions from the Sindh Board of Revenue.
The report further highlighted that identified workers and crop owners would suffer from overall livelihood loss, given that the agricultural land at the site would no longer be usable following the subproject’s development.
As far as basic civic amenities are concerned, the households living in the solar park area in both the districts did not have power, water, sanitation or gas facilities.
World Bank Involuntary Resettlement Policy
The ARAP report said that all affected households and agricultural land “encroachers” will be compensated in line with the World Bank Operation Policy (OP 4.12 Involuntary Resettlement).
The World Bank policy states that when people are forced to move because of a project (like a construction or development project), it can cause serious problems for them. These problems could include long-term poverty, hardship and environmental harm unless careful planning is done to prevent or reduce these effects.
The bank’s policy on this issue has three main goals:
1. Avoiding resettlement whenever possible: If there’s a way to design the project so people don’t have to be displaced, that should be done. Moving people should be the last resort.
This seems to have been achieved in Deh Mitha Gar where 18 acres of privately owned land was excluded from the project’s scope.
2. Making resettlement a positive experience: Where it is not feasible to avoid resettlement, resettlement activities should be conceived and executed as sustainable development programmes, providing sufficient investment resources to enable the persons displaced by the project to get a share from the project’s benefits. The displaced persons should be meaningfully consulted and should have opportunities to participate in the planning and implementation of the resettlement programme.
While several stakeholder meetings seem to have taken place and the affected people are being compensated, it is still unclear whether the project-affected persons and the impoverished communities around the area will truly benefit from the project.
Qazi, however, emphasised that according to Nepra regulations, the IPP is required to allocate five per cent of its profits to support local communities as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) obligations.
According to the NEPRA Social Investment Guidelines 2021, the licensees are encouraged to safeguard local communities’ legitimate interests and rights regarding land, assets and natural resources. They should also focus on areas such as education, health, women’s empowerment, access to drinking water and sanitation, local employment and skills development.
The sections 12(xi) and 12 (xiv) of the Power Policy 2015 bind the power sector stakeholders, including generation companies and provinces, to undertake CSR activities within their project areas.
3. Helping people improve their lives: Displaced people should get help for improving their living conditions. At the very least, they should be able to restore their standard of living to what it was before they had been displaced or even better.
As per the ARAP, the government’s intentions seem good. However, only time will tell whether the displaced persons were equitably compensated.
Subedited by Bilal Ahmed
Header image generated by AI
