PAC slams delays only escalate project costs despite billions spent

The project originally approved in 2001 at a cost of Rs 14 billion and revised thrice to Rs 61.985 billion

Nazir Siyal/DNA

KARACHI: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) expressed strong displeasure over the long-stalled Right Bank Outfall Drain-II (RBOD-II) project, where despite spending over Rs 40 billion between 2001 and 2017, the scheme remains incomplete.

At a briefing by WAPDA officials and Sindh Irrigation Department officers, it was revealed that the 273-kilometer-long project originally approved in 2001 at a cost of Rs 14 billion and revised thrice to Rs 61.985 billion has seen 70% work completed but has remained abandoned since 2015.

WAPDA distanced itself from the project, asserting that it was only responsible for RBOD-I and RBOD-III (both completed) and that RBOD-II is solely handled by the Sindh Irrigation Department, bwith direct funding from the federal Ministry of Water Resources.

The Irrigation Department cited cancellation of the 2022 work order, removal of consultants, and ongoing NAB and Anti-Corruption inquiries as reasons for the halt in construction, despite Rs 3.5 billion still available in funds.

PAC Chairman Nisar Khuhro rebuked irrigation officials for negligence, stating that delays only escalate project costs.
He directed the Sindh Chief Secretary to seek approval from the Steering Committee for appointment of a new consultant to resume work.

PAC also instructed the department to take steps for installing a treatment plant before the Zero Point to prevent toxic RBOD effluents from polluting Manchar Lake.

Officials confirmed that the federal government had released Rs 44 billion up to 2017, of which Rs 40 billion had already been spent. Still, the project is pending, raising serious accountability questions.

Earlier objections by the Irrigation Secretary declaring the project “non-feasible” were rejected in today’s meeting by SE RBOD Abdul Waheed Nizamani, who clarified that RBOD-II will not pass through the Indus riverbed, but will run along its alignment as per the approved design.

PAC concluded by declaring RBOD-II a vital project for Sindh and ordered that construction must resume without further delay.

It is also mentioned here that the substandard work on RBOD-I and its Embankments are vulnerable and weak, which can be witnessed at various locations after decade work.