Rs770m 'flood-fighting' bill despite no flood in Sindh

A Rs770 million "flood-fighting" bill has landed on the Sindh government's table despite the absence of any major flood emergency last year, raising questions over a demand for public funds that the irrigation authorities say was incurred on emergency protection works, The Express Tribune has learnt.

The Sindh Irrigation Department has sought approval from the chief minister for the release of more than Rs770 million in alleged liabilities for works carried out during "Flood Fighting 2025", according to a departmental summary. Sources, however, allege that several of the works listed in the documents were either not carried out or were overstated.

The controversy centres on a summary prepared on the basis of a report by a committee headed by Chief Engineer Junaid Talpur. The central technical committee subsequently cleared the claimed expenditures, while chief engineers reportedly certified the bills as verified.

The department has defended the additional funding demand by pointing to sharp increases in the prices of cement, steel and diesel following the introduction of the Composite Schedule of Rates 2024. But irrigation experts have questioned whether such a substantial expenditure was justified in a year when the province did not face a major flood emergency.

Mir Abdul Karim Talpur, Secretary Information of the Sindh Chamber of Agriculture, called for an independent third-party audit of the works and suggested that satellite imagery be used to establish whether the projects were actually executed.

According to sources, works described in official documents as emergency measures for the protection of embankments were not carried out at several sites. They alleged that construction material, diesel, machinery, and labour costs were cited to justify the claimed expenditure.

The department, however, maintains that the additional funds are justified by the sharp rise in input costs. Officials have argued that prices of cement, steel and diesel have increased substantially since CSR 2024, making additional funding necessary.

The technical committee has also maintained that the expenditures were subjected to scrutiny before the summary was forwarded to the chief minister for approval.

The issue comes against the backdrop of a broader funding dispute within the Irrigation Department. Along with the Rs770 million in alleged flood-fighting liabilities, the department has sought substantial additional allocations for region-wise maintenance for fiscal year 2025-26.

According to the summary, the department requires Rs100 billion, while the Finance Department has released Rs32.543 billion - around 32% of the amount sought. Over the past five years, the department has received a total of Rs30.444 billion, according to the figures cited in the summary, which also include expenditure relating to the devastating floods of 2022.

The conflicting funding claims have raised questions about the department's financial priorities. While officials have cited a shortage of funds for maintenance and improvement of the irrigation network, questions are being raised over the proposed release of more than Rs770 million for works allegedly undertaken during a year without a major flood emergency.

The issue is also linked to longstanding complaints by contractors over unpaid liabilities. According to sources, contractors have billions of rupees outstanding with the department and have repeatedly been told that payments cannot be made because of a lack of funds and existing liabilities.

Multiple attempts were made to obtain the views of Irrigation Secretary Zareef Khero and Technical Committee Chairman Riaz Shah, but neither responded to requests for comment.

Mir Abdul Karim Talpur expressed concern over the scale of the proposed flood-fighting expenditure, saying such a large amount during generally normal weather conditions warranted scrutiny. He called for a third-party audit of all the works listed in the summary and proposed using satellite imagery to independently verify whether the projects had actually been executed.

Talpur said the department could not use an increase in the CSR as a blanket justification for every increase in expenditure. "Flood fighting is essentially an emergency activity and generally involves stone and earthwork," he said, adding that claims involving substantial expenditure on cement and steel should therefore be examined carefully.

He urged the provincial chief minister to order an independent and transparent investigation into the summary before approving the requested funds.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Talpur said there were also concerns at the local level about the repair of protective embankments and the use of stone and machinery at several sites.

He stressed the need to ensure transparent utilisation of public funds and said accountability institutions, including the National Accountability Bureau and Anti-Corruption Establishment, should examine the matter where warranted.

Several farmers and residents in Hyderabad and Dadu have also expressed concern over the reported expenditure and the condition of flood-protection infrastructure in their areas.

Sindh Agriculture Board Chairman Mahmood Nawaz Shah, speaking to The Express Tribune, criticised what he described as the deteriorating state of the province's irrigation network, inequitable water distribution and alleged irregularities in development projects.

He said Pakistan was already facing a serious water shortage, while problems within the irrigation system were compounding the difficulties faced by farmers and growers.

According to Shah, the biggest challenges confronting Sindh's irrigation network are inequitable water distribution and poor governance. He said the system had deteriorated to such an extent that farmers at the tail-end of canals often failed to receive adequate water even when sufficient quantities were available in the rivers.

Shah said the problem was not limited to years of low rainfall. Even when water was available, he alleged, poor management resulted in crops in tail-end areas drying up. He cited complaints from farmers in Dadu, Wara and adjoining areas, who, according to him, were facing declining agricultural productivity because they were not receiving their due share of irrigation water.

Rainfall, he said, could provide only temporary relief, while the underlying problem remained the equitable and transparent distribution of water.

Speaking about irrigation infrastructure, Shah said much of the provincial network had become old and dilapidated despite substantial funds being allocated for maintenance and repairs. He alleged that funds released for maintenance were being misused while little corresponding improvement was visible on the ground.

Shah referred to the failure of a gate at Sukkur Barrage two years ago and the earlier collapse of part of the Rohri Canal structure, attributing both incidents to what he described as negligence and inadequate maintenance.

He called on the government and relevant authorities to undertake urgent rehabilitation of the province's irrigation infrastructure, introduce modern monitoring technologies, curb corruption and ensure equitable distribution of irrigation water.