• Senate panel questions delay in submitting list of beneficiaries, seeks report
• Calls for transparency in flood rehabilitation projects in Sindh, Balochistan

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Sta­­n­ding Committee on Econo­mic Af­­fairs on Thursday raised concerns over the distribution of subsidised solar systems in Sin­dh, suspecting political influe­nce rather than ad­­herence to the poverty rankings of the Benazir Income Support Prog­ramme (BISP).

The panel has sou­ght a detailed report for review.

The meeting, chaired by PTI Senator Saifullah Abro, also examined foreign-funded flood rehabilitation projects in Sindh and Balochistan, directing authorities to provide complete details of the tendering process.

While reviewing the Sindh Solar Energy Project, Senator Abro criticised delays in submitting the list of beneficiaries. He said the committee had been informed that out of 200,000 private beneficiaries, 6,000 would be selected from the second category of the BISP list due to their ability to pay an upfront cost of Rs6,000.

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“However, four months have passed, and the list has not been submitted before the committee,” he was quoted as saying in an official statement.

The committee stressed that solar energy subsidies should be allocated to the most deserving individuals — those with a BISP score between zero and 20 — rather than individuals in the secondary category.

“The ministry’s hesitation in providing the list clearly indicates that the distribution has been made on a political basis,” Senator Abro observed. Therefore, the meeting directed officials to present the list of beneficiaries, along with the details of the tendering process for solar companies, in the next meeting.

Flood rehabilitation projects

The meeting also discussed the Flood Emergency Rehabilitation Assistance projects undertaken by Sindh and Balochistan in collaboration with multilateral and bilateral partners and UN agencies.

Officials informed the committee that a total of 17 projects had been completed under the Flood Emergency Rehabilitation Assis­tance. Of these projects, one was funded by the Islamic Deve­lop­ment Bank and 16 were funded by the European Union.

Moreover, 37 projects are ongoing under the same programme with an estimated cost of $1.399bn. Of these, five are funded by the World Bank, four by the Asian De­­velopment Bank, one by the Isl­a­mic Development Bank, three by the Saudi Fund for Develop­ment, and 24 by the European Union.

Senator Abro, while reviewing the projects, recommended that the Economic Affairs Division halt upcoming proposals from Balo­ch­istan, as the representatives of the province failed to appear before the committee despite being summoned several times.

The committee also directed of­­ficials to submit complete details of projects executed in Sindh, along with their tendering processes, at the next meeting.

Published in Dawn, March 21st, 2025