QUETTA: The provincial Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has expressed concerns over the delays in the Quetta Development Package, which includes the realignment of roads to cope with increasing traffic jams.

The apex audit body of the Balochistan Assembly met on Friday with MPA Asghar Ali Tareen in the chair.

The committee noted that Rs2 billion had been spent on the project, which should have been completed by 2020.

But the work is still ongoing four years later, Mr Tareen noted.

Apex audit body laments four-year lapse despite Rs2bn allocation

“The project has been delayed due to the incompetence of the officials,” he said, adding that this increased the project’s cost.

The committee member said this was an “injustice to the people of the province.”

The meeting also audited the accounts of the provincial Planning and Development Department and the Balochistan Education Foundation for the fiscal years 2021-22 and audit paras for 2022-23.

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Mr Tareen expressed surprise at relevant officers who pleaded helplessness when asked why the work on Sirki Road was stopped due to the actions of a few individuals.

The PAC chairman stated that such interference in government’s affairs was causing distress to the people of Quetta, and no one was addressing it.

He directed the relevant authorities to immediately contact Quetta’s administration to resume the work.

The chairman also instructed the departments to present a comprehensive report on the project within a month, stressing that more delays were “unacceptable”.

He highlighted the need for proper accounting and reconciliation of funds, emphasising that institutions must ensure transparency and accountability in their accounts.

He directed the department to ensure that all funds are used for their intended purposes and that any misuse of funds will be accounted for.

The PAC members, in a separate meeting with the Balochistan Education Foundation officials, questioned why the grants-in-aid were not used for their intended purposes. The chairman emphasised that the purpose of these aids was to benefit the public.

The committee’s chairman emphasised the importance of accountability over the use of public funds, stating that taxpayers’ money should be used with utmost responsibility and transparency.

He expressed serious concern over the absence of the additional chief secretary (Planning and Development) and the principal accounting officers of various departments.

This reflected the departments’ lack of seriousness, Mr Tareen added.

The meeting was attended by PAC members as well as Balochistan Assembly Secretary Tahir Shah Kakar, Planning and Development Secretary Wali Muhammad Barech, Balochistan Accountant General Nasarullah Jan, Audit DG Shuja Ali, PAC Additional Secretary Siraj Lehri, and other officials.

Published in Dawn, August 17th, 2024