Geographically vast – as is measured in every analytical piece to give it a justification that way – Balochistan remains to be a ‘vast plundering site’ for many a politician and every single person who gets a hand on any resource at his disposal. Politically carpeted with every stroke of change in the center, the province seems to have gone invisible to the naked eyes of the upholders of accountability.
An investigative report produced in Lok Sujaag has unearthed alleged irregularities in the incumbent chairman senate’s exploitation of the Sandak gold and copper project. The sorry tale of embezzlement and reported corruption in the Sandak gold project is, if not anything to eco in accountability corridors, a fine example of how the vast geography, cradling precious minerals and resources, is subjected to exploitation.
The reports confirm that the company has been digging and extracting resources beyond its caped threshold. This exploitation knows no boundaries as the heavy machinery has been reportedly directed to nearby mountains to smash them to extract iron ore. The fast-paced depletion of resources and deployment of heavy machinery can harm the environment to an unrepairable extent.
And, for sure, the company, in any prudent view, must not have conducted an environmental impact assessment (EIA). If any, it must be made public. Ironically, the company, owned by the Sanjranis, has digressed from the business to reportedly usurp whatever they encounter in the path of their business.
An entire railway track has gone missing from the area which once connected Sandak to Chaghi. Again, this appears to be a calculated effort to pave the way for or enhance the claws of their private business – a transportation company that the senate chairman is said to have owned. Then there are allegations of hiding rare-earth elements, other than those listed officially, extracted from the site.
The company has been allegedly doing this in collusion with a Chinese company since 2002. This, simply put, translates into minting ‘billions’ of rupees and all this has happened right under the nose of all successive provincial governments. Such mammoth cases of corruption leave many flabbergasted except those having a hold on the reigns of accountability.
Assistant Editor
Balochistan Voices
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