QUETTA: A staggering audit revelation has exposed a massive financial scandal in Gwadar’s water supply, with nearly Rs957 million spent on water tankers in a single year without any verifiable documentation.
The Balochistan Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) uncovered that in the 2018-19 fiscal year, the Public Health Engineering (PHE) divisions of Gwadar and Lasbela collectively expended Rs975.816 million on water tankers. A shocking Rs956.989 million of this amount was utilized solely for Gwadar.
Audit officials reported a complete breakdown of financial oversight. Crucially, **no verifiable records, delivery schedules, or verification details were maintained** for these enormous expenditures, raising serious allegations of mismanagement and potential corruption.
The PAC, chaired by Asghar Ali Tareen, expressed severe concern over the scandal. Committee members highlighted that this lack of accountability for funds meant to provide a basic necessity to the port city’s residents was unacceptable.
Issuing a stern warning, the committee directed the PHE department to provide complete records of the tanker operations and expenditures. The PAC stated that if satisfactory documentation is not presented by its next meeting, the matter will be referred to the **National Accountability Bureau (NAB)** for a full investigation.
The scandal underscores the chronic water crisis in Gwadar, where residents are forced to rely on tankers despite the city’s strategic national importance. The absence of records suggests a systemic failure in ensuring transparency for a critical public service, diverting billions that could have been invested in permanent water infrastructure solutions.
Meanwhile in a decisive move to tackle the chronic utility shortages hindering Gwadar’s development, Federal Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal has ordered all relevant institutions to implement a unified strategy for ensuring a continuous and reliable water supply to the port city.
The directive came during a high-level meeting chaired by the minister in Gwadar, convened specifically to address the city’s pressing water and electricity issues. Officials, including the Director General of the Gwadar Development Authority (GDA) who joined via video link, reviewed ongoing and proposed projects aimed at resolving the infrastructural deficits.
