Jhimpir Wind Corridor: Prosperity or Displacement?

Until the demands are addressed, the people of Jhimpir continue to live in the shadow of the turbines—displaced from their lands, denied justice in courts, and excluded from the prosperity their region helps generate.

Written by Ashfaq Leghari | Translated By Nisar Banbhan

Jhimpir, Thatta District 

As the wind turbines whirl along the Gharo-Jhimpir Wind Corridor in southern Sindh, producing clean energy and profit for multinational and local corporations, the story on the ground remains far from the narrative of sustainability and development. For many like 50-year-old Ganohar Khan Jakhrro, a lifelong resident of Malhar Jakhrro village, the arrival of wind energy projects marked the end of an era—one defined by ancestral lands, traditional livelihoods, and community roots.

Ganohar sits beneath the shadow of turbines with a group of fellow villagers, adjusting the embellished Sindhi cap on his head. He offers his national ID card when asked about his age, as he has never attended school and relates more to seasons and harvests than calendars or clocks.

“I was among the prosperous landowners here,” he says, recalling his agricultural life before 2007. “We cultivated about 250 acres of rain-fed land, growing sesame, mung beans, sorghum, and cluster beans. Just the yield from cluster beans brought in two million rupees once.”

But that year—2007—was a turning point. “The wind power companies arrived, took over our land without consent, and ran heavy machinery over our standing crops. Everything was destroyed,” Ganohar says.

Uncompensated Land, Unheard Voices

Mohammad Imran Khaskheli, another farmer from Jhimpir’s Khaskheli neighborhood, claims that wind companies illegally occupy 170 acres of land in his father’s name. Dozens of similar testimonies have emerged from local residents who allege that their lands were appropriated without compensation, documentation, or legal consent.

According to official figures, there are currently 36 operational wind power projects in Sindh, producing a total of 1,845 megawatts. The corridor stretches approximately 160 km from Gharo to Jhimpir, covering about 9,700 square kilometers, identified by Pakistan’s Meteorological Department and the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory as ideal for wind energy due to strong sea breezes.

While energy corporations thrive and contribute electricity to the national grid via stations like Nooriabad, just 35 kilometers away, locals say they have been cut out of the benefits entirely.

Government Leases and Land Rights Disputes

The Government of Sindh offered land on 30-year leases to wind companies under the federal Renewable Energy Policy 2006 and later formalized it through the Sindh Land Grant Policy for Renewable Energy Projects 2015. Official records from the Deputy Commissioner’s Office in Thatta show that over 33,976 acres of public land were leased to the Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB), which in turn subleased the plots to energy companies.

However, local farmers claim the companies now control more than 52,000 acres, including ancestral grazing lands like Jungshahi. They acknowledge that formal title deeds are often unavailable—especially in the “Kohistan” region (Thatta, Jamshoro, and Malir), which lacks canal irrigation and where most farming is done on rain-fed hilly tracts.

“In Kohistan, few land records exist, but generations have cultivated the land, and we see it as our own,” says one villager.

Mohammad Imran Khaskheli disputes the government’s claim that the land was unowned. He presents land registration documents (Form VII) and loan papers from 1983, showing how his father borrowed money for a tractor, repaid the debt, and reclaimed the land in 2013.

Ganohar Khan recalls obtaining an injunction from the Session Court in Thatta, halting construction on his fields. “The company later sent local officers and a foreign representative to offer me money and jobs in exchange for withdrawing the case—but I refused.”

Subsequently, he was arrested under terrorism charges and jailed—he cannot recall for how long. According to co-accused Mohammad Bakhsh Brohi, a university graduate who has kept case records, the FIR (No. 2013/5) was filed on June 26, 2013, following a complaint by an employee of Three Gorges Wind Company. Although Ganohar was released after a month by an anti-terrorism court, his injunction was overturned, and legal proceedings dragged on for a year.

“Company lawyers are powerful and expensive,” says Mohammad Imran. “Our hearings are delayed for months. How can poor villagers compete with corporate lawyers and government alliances?”

Silence Bought, But No Justice Served

While formal compensation remains elusive, some villagers allege that hush money and informal employment offers were arranged through influential local mediators. Shah Mohammad Chang, a political activist and founder of Kohistan Bachao Action Committee, says the wind corridor affects nearly 100 villages in union councils like Jhimpir and Jungshahi.

“Whether the land was formally owned or not, locals had cultivated it for generations. They lost their livelihoods, and in most cases, not a single rupee in official compensation was paid,” says Chang. “Some were given token jobs or cash through backchannels to silence their protests.”

 Read: Jhimpir Wind Power Project Undertaken by Orient Group in Pakistan

Ganohar confirms that 32 villagers from Malhar Jakhrro were given temporary jobs by the company—“but they were let go after just one year.”

Shah Mohammad adds, “The nation benefits from clean energy. The companies and Sindh government enjoy revenues. But what did the people of Jhimpir get? A few minor jobs and water tankers?”

Despite their immense presence, the companies have done little in terms of local development. The provincial government has no significant welfare initiatives in the region. Companies have appointed one teacher each for ten schools and occasionally supply water tankers—but no structured programs for health, education, or infrastructure have materialized.

CSR Remains Undefined and Under-Enforced

While Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is legally binding in countries like India (2% of profits must go to social welfare), in Pakistan it remains vague. The Company General Order 2009 mandates disclosure of CSR activities in audit reports, but compliance is uneven.

CSR obligations include environmental protection, local investment, community development, and philanthropy. Dr. Ameer Abro, a sociology professor at the University of Sindh, who conducted a study for the Civil Society Support Program (CSSP), states that CSR implementation in renewable energy is poorly defined at both federal and provincial levels.

“In Jhimpir, CSR mostly amounts to water tankers and a few teachers. There’s no comprehensive development plan covering water, healthcare, roads, or education,” Abro notes.

Three Key Demands from the Community

Shah Mohammad Chang summarizes the community’s demands:

1. Fair compensation for affected landowners.
2. Employment opportunities for locals.
3. Transparent and effective use of CSR funds to provide essential services.

Until these demands are addressed, the people of Jhimpir continue to live in the shadow of the turbines—displaced from their lands, denied justice in courts, and excluded from the prosperity their region helps generate.

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