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ISLAMABAD:
The Senate Standing Committee on Economic Affairs demanded full details of delays, expenditure and current status of the Sindh dam improvement project, as lawmakers questioned funding decisions, project transfers and years-long administrative errors.
The committee met on Wednesday under the chairmanship of Senator Saifullah Abro. Officials of the Economic Affairs Division (EAD) briefed the members about the funds allocated for Multan’s heritage restoration, saying that Rs 8,276 million had been set aside, of which Rs 850 million had been released in 2011.
Senator Rubina Khalid questioned how a federal project was transferred to the province, asking if the committee’s mandate allowed such a move without the approval of the federal cabinet.
EAD officials responded that a management committee had ordered the transfer, prompting Senator Kamran Murtaza to ask who had authorized the body to make decisions of such magnitude. Senator Abro asked for details of the sites selected in 2011 and demanded the feasibility report.
The project director said he had an implementation report for the second phase worth Rs251 million. Senator Abro insisted that he was demanding feasibility of the allocation of Rs 850 million, not subsequent documents focused on later phases.
Officials told the committee that a consultancy contract worth Rs111 million had been awarded for the restoration project. The consulting firm was outsourced to a company and lawmakers questioned whether the work was awarded on a percentage basis.
EAD officials added that there were differences between the original and revised PC-I documents. They confirmed that heritage restoration funds had been misappropriated, with half used for a burns center and the rest spent on another Multan project, raising further concerns.
