PAC seeks answers on RBOD project

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Sindh Assembly, in its meeting on Monday headed by its chairman Nisar Khuhro, took notice of the suspension of work on the 273-km RBOD-II project since 2015.

The work was started in 2001 involving a cost of Rs62 billion, however due to delays, the project cost has escalated to Rs400 billion, officials told the meeting.

The committee has summoned the WAPDA chairman and other relevant officials to brief on the issue in the next meeting.

RBOD is a drainage canal being built on the right bank of the Indus River. It consists of RBOD-I, RBOD-II and RBOD-III canals which are in different phases of completion.

The PAC also directed the Sindh Irrigation Department to immediately talk to WAPDA and the federal government on the funding and technical issues of the project.

A committee comprising NAB, Irrigation Department and Revenue Department was formed to obtain the record of the RBOD project, which will submit a report within 15 days.

Committee members including Qasim Siraj Soomro, Khurram Karim Soomro and Makhdoom Fakhar-uz-Zaman were in the meeting, which was also attended by NAB Director Abdul Hafeez Siddiqui, Secretary Irrigation Zarif Khero, Secretary Finance Fayyaz Jatoi, Senior Member Board of Revenue Baqaullah Unar and other officials.

NAB informed that an investigation was conducted into irregularities worth Rs400 million related to the purchase of land in the RBOD project but the matter is no longer under the jurisdiction of NAB and has been transferred from the accountability court to the anti-corruption court due to NAB amendments.

The NAB has handed over the records related to the purchase of land to the revenue officers of Thatta and Jamshoro. However, an investigation of Rs5 billion is underway on the RBOD-II project but NAB does not have any records in its custody.

DC Jamshoro and SE Thatta told the committee that no records were received from NAB. The committee member Khurram Karim Soomro raised the question saying, if NAB did not direct the work to stop on the project, then why did the work stop? The irrigation secretary replied that the work was not possible without records.

Siraj Soomro said that the project, stalled for 10 years due to irregularities of Rs10 billion, has now reached Rs400 billion. In such a situation, where will the federal government provide the amount from?

Zarif Khero informed that the completion of the project under the current design could prove detrimental to sea and flood protection. Therefore, a review of PC-1 is necessary. According to the Finance Secretary, the project, which started with Rs14 billion in 2001, reached Rs61.98 billion in 2016. The federal government's share was Rs54.98 billion and the Sindh government's share was Rs7 billion. Sindh released Rs4 billion and the federation Rs5 billion in 2019, but no more funds were given since 2021.

PAC chairman raised the question saying, if the project was not feasible, then why was Rs40 billion spent? He said that the Sindh government will not withdraw from the project as it is the need of the province.

It was revealed in the meeting that after the review of PC-1, the cost of the project could reach Rs400 billion, on which Nisar Khuhro directed to talk to the federal government for immediate funding.

The Sindh government will contact the federation and WAPDA to resume the work on the project.