AGP detects Rs 419.69 million losses in KP's C&W department

The Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) has detected a huge loss of Rs 419.69 million in the accounts of the Communication and Works (C&W) Department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in heads of excess payment, allowing premium on CSR, non-utilization of available earth and cancellation of tendering process etc, said Audit Report on the Accounts of KP Audit Year 2015-16. The report has already been presented in the provincial assembly and for deliberations it had already been referred to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the house.
The KP Assembly PAC is headed by the Speaker Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani and the proceeding of the panel is progress. The highest loss amounting to Rs.175.07 million has noticed in the C&W Department due to excess payment in earth work. The payment has been made in violation of the para 220 of Central Public Works Accounts (CPWA) Code, which says that all payments shall be made for work done duly measured in accordance with quantity, quality, rates and specification approved in the detail cost estimate & accordingly to para 69 &89 CPWA Code, expenditure on a work should be restricted to the Estimate/BOQ (Bill of Quantities) Cost while paras 20 and 23 of GFR Vol.1, provides that every government officer is personally responsible for any loss sustained by government through fraud or negligence on his part or on the part of his subordinates.
During the financial year 2013-14, in the office of Managing Director (MD), Pakhtunkhwa Highway Authority (PKHA), it was noticed that a sum of Rs.175.07 million was paid in excess in the earth work in different schemes. The PC-I, surveys and design was prepared by the consultant for which heavy payments were made. The purpose of the engagement of consultant is to reduce the possibility of variation, but in the present case the variation increased from 10 to 100%, which was abnormal and failure of consultant.
The audit have directed investigation that why 100% variation occurred in most items of different schemes. In some cases, the stone available from rock excavation and disposed hard rock was not utilized in the RMM work. The excess quantity executed due to weak internal controls and defective PC-I, survey, design and BOQ. The loss was pointed out in December 2014 and the management replied that the quantities based on preliminary topographic survey subject to variation on the basis of joint survey.
The audit requested the department repeatedly for holding of the Departmental Accounts Committee (DAC), however, it was not convened till finalization of the report.