QUETTA: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Balochistan Assembly, revealed shocking financial irregularities involving billions of rupees in the Gwadar water supply, Public Health Engineering (PHE) expenses, and the Mangi Dam project
The meeting was chaired by Asghar Ali Tareen. The meeting reviewed a special audit report conducted by the Director General Audit Balochistan in November 2022, covering the PHE Gwadar Department’s accounts from 2018 to 2021. The report disclosed expenses exceeding Rs 590 crore that were not properly accounted for, raising serious concerns over financial transparency.
Audit report revealed that Rs 240 million were released without deducting income tax, and works worth Rs 492 crore were awarded without tenders, violating procurement laws. The audit also highlighted irregularities worth over Rs 38 crore in drought-related water supply schemes and suspicious purchases of fuel and repair materials lacking proper records.
During the PAC meeting, Chairman Asghar Ali Tareen showed displeasure over these findings, emphasizing that protecting public funds is paramount and promising strict action after giving officials an opportunity to explain.
The Balochistan Assembly PAC also reviewed the Mangi Dam project, which faced a 42% cost overrun, with expenses soaring from Rs 7 billion to Rs 18 billion. The report criticized poor planning and repeated revisions of the project’s initial PC-1 document. Despite the scale of the project, clean water remains unavailable to the public.
Chairman PAC announced plans to personally inspect the Mangi Dam site and called on the Chief Secretary to ensure immediate release of funds, warning of another special audit if deadlines are missed.
Additionally, the meeting revealed that approximately 1.43 million liters of diesel were used to supply water in Gwadar through tankers, but there was no formal record or proper logbook maintenance, and purchases violated Balochistan Revenue Authority (BRA) rules.
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PAC members expressed outrage and suggested referring the case to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). Tareen assured that the committee would not only expose financial mismanagement but also take stringent legal measures to restore public confidence in Balochistan’s governance.
