616KW Solar Project Installed at Mahmood Textile Mill, Muzaffargarh. Screenshot from YouTube video by DSG Energy. Fair Use.

Just a few years ago, Hasilwala, a rural area in Punjab, was a desolate landscape. Thanks to innovative solar technology, the community invested in irrigation and farming, breathing life into the dry soil. Now, that same technology threatens to displace them as the Pakistani government is looking to acquire over 2,500 acres of land to establish a solar power plant, a development that threatens to uproot families who have transformed their once barren land into flourishing fields.

“The government provided nothing — no roads, no electricity, no water,” asserts local leader Muzaffar Khan Magsi while talking to Global Voices. “Now that we’ve built our lives here, they want to take it all away.” He added that nearly three hundred families who have lived on the land for generations now face unemployment and homelessness. Their protection has not even been considered in the project.

“They are snatching away our forefathers’ lands and our livelihoods,” laments 80-year-old Maheen Bibi, a distressed resident of Chah Hasilwala, located in the Muzaffargarh Punjab. “We have nowhere else to go. God will ensure justice prevails.”

What is Muzaffargarh Solar PV Park?

Muzaffargarh Solar PV Park is a 600-megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic power project, planned in Punjab, Pakistan. According to GlobalData, which tracks and profiles over 170,000 power plants worldwide, the project is currently at the permit stage. It will be developed in a single phase, with construction expected to begin in 2025 and commercial operations anticipated to start in 2026. The project is being developed and currently owned entirely by the Alternative Energy Development Board, Pakistan. The Muzaffargarh Solar PV Park is a ground-mounted solar project planned for an area of over 2,400 acres.

In September 2022, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's government approved a program to produce two thousand megawatts of electricity from solar energy. As a part of this initiative, the government decided to set up a 600-MW solar plant approximately 35 kilometers north of Muzaffargarh city in Punjab, the largest province of the country.

The survey and land acquisition for this project was entrusted to the National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC). The government invoked the Land Acquisition Act of 1894, which allows the government to acquire private land for public purposes. The work of surveying and estimating the price of land was assigned to the district administration of Muzaffargarh.

The contractor needed to temporarily lease land during the project implementation phase to establish offices, residential quarters for the contractors and staff, workshops, parking lots, etc. Therefore, the contractor began to negotiate with the landowners in the form of lease agreements under the supervision and approval of the PMU.

However, the contractor failed to offer fair market rates (replacement cost) for land leases, so the landowners refused the terms and the deal fell through.

Even so, on March 16, 2024, the NTDC Headquarters, Water and Power Development Authority House issued a press release announcing the “successful acquisition of two thousand, five hundred and fifty-three acres of land in Tehsil Chowk Sarwar Shaheed for the solar power plant.” Moreover, the land acquisition collector announced the award under Section 11 of the Land Acquisition Act 1894 for the aforementioned land. The Director General (Land) NTDC and other officials were also present at the event. A picture accompanying the press release depicted a banner titled “Award Ceremony.”

Entrepreneur Abdul Rehman Najam posted on X:

NTDC 🇵🇰🇵🇰 has purchased 2500+ acres land in Muzaffargarh for 600MW solar project.

No bids were received for this project from investors in last one year, even after three attempts.

Govt should end single buyer model, instead of giving sovereign guarantees, allow the investors… pic.twitter.com/Iy9WD8up4g

— Abdul Rehman Najam (@AbdulRehman0292) March 16, 2024

Sentiments of the local landowners

Local farmer Amir Khan, who runs a shop near Adda Chowk in Kot Dadu, while talking to Global Voices, expressed his frustration over the lack of communication regarding the land acquisition. “My objections were ignored, and I never received any formal notice before the award was announced. Survey work began years ago without our knowledge,” he explained. “They initially estimated my land’s value at 225,000 to 280,000 rupees (USD 800–USD 1,000) per acre, while others in different areas are being offered 500,000 rupees (USD 1,800) per acre.”

Amir noted that the locals rejected the government’s offer. “They pressured us to accept the money, warning that if we didn’t, we’d have to go to Lahore for fair compensation,” he said. After officials left, banners were erected in protest of the unjust deal, however, the next day, news broke that the land government had acquired the land through the Land Acquisition Act.

As community members organized to resist further government surveys, local journalist Sara Malik, while discussing the incident with the Global Voices’ team, highlighted the potential environmental consequences. “This solar project threatens vital green habitats that local wildlife relies on. Converting agricultural land into industrial zones will disrupt ecosystems,” she stated.

An official of the Ministry of Climate Change, on the basis of anonymity, told Global Voices that the project may seem beneficial for energy production, but at what cost? “The livelihoods of hundreds are at stake, and we're losing precious arable land that contributes to our food security.”

The community remains determined to fight against the project, voicing their concerns over both their livelihoods and the environmental impact. As protests continue, the clash between government plans and local needs intensifies, underscoring the urgent need for a more sustainable approach to development.

But when the government teams came again a few days ago, local people resisted and stopped them from the new survey.

Archaic land records fail to reflect new realities

Mehar Ijaz, a landlord in Thal who also practices law in Muzaffargarh stated in a video interview that more than 50 landowners have filed petitions with the Land Acquisition Collector based in Lahore. He added that the petitioners have raised objections regarding serious violations of rules in determining the value for the acquisition of lands under the Acquisition Act of 1894.

“Our objections were not heard and proceedings were conducted unilaterally. I also filed a petition in the court of the Additional Deputy Commissioner of District Muzaffargarh but justice was not done there either,” he said.

Landowner Mian Ameer Nawaz from Thal says “If only Commissioner Dera Ghazi Khan would visit the site with his deputy commissioners and inspect these fertile lands, I am confident they would relocate the solar plant.”

On June 15, affected landowners staged a protest at the Khudai bus stop, near Head MuhammedWala in the Punjab province of Pakistan. They said that the government’s offer price was too low. “It costs 800,000 to 1,000,000 rupees (USD 2,870–3,587) to level just one acre of barren land and make it cultivable. We will not accept their offer under any circumstances.”

Ameer Momin Rehmat, a local from Muzaffargarh, Punjab, also participated in this protest. He suggested that there are thousands of acres of government land lying vacant in District Muzaffargarh and Kot Addu, where the government can set up the power plant, sparing this agricultural land.

Shafqat Nonari expressed frustration over the fact that despite significant investments in irrigation systems and agricultural activities on the lands, the territory is undervalued and misrepresented as barren in government records. “The market rate of our lands is between rupees ten to fifteen, and even eighteen, hundred thousand per acre but authorities are offering much less. If land is to be acquired, we should be compensated at the market rate.”

Project engineers, who remain optimistic about the solar initiative, insist the project will ultimately benefit the region. However, they acknowledge the community's concerns. “We understand the grievances,” one engineer stated on the condition of anonymity. “But this project is crucial for energy sustainability in the area.”

As protests intensify, the divide between government ambitions and community needs widens. With the future of their homes hanging in the balance, the residents of Thal continue to fight for their rights—reminding us that behind every development project, lives and stories matter.