Gas supply schemes: Ministry fails to utilise approved amount of Rs 2.3 billion in 2016-17

The Ministry of Energy, Petroleum Division, failed to utilise an amount of Rs 2.3 billion approved for gas supply schemes of various cities in 2016-17. This was informed by officials of the Auditor General Pakistan (AGP) while briefing a subcommittee of the Public Accounts Committee, which met here under the chairmanship of Senator Shibli Faraz on Wednesday.
The committee while discussing and reviewing the audit objections of the Petroleum Division for the year 2016-17 was also told by the officials of the AGP that four provincial directors were illegally appointed in Director General (DG) Petroleum Concessions (PC) Policy Wing of the Petroleum Division. The committee directed the secretary Petroleum Division to provide the details of the four provincial directors appointed in DGPC in next meeting.
Audit officials informed the panel that four former employees of DGPC were made provincial directors at the DGPC, Policy Wing of the Petroleum Division, Ministry of Energy, without the approval of the prime minister.
Petroleum Division officials briefing on the matter informed the panel that appointment of four provincial directors at DGPC is in line with the Petroleum Policy 2012-13 which was approved by the Council of Common Interests (CCI), which consist of four provincial chief ministers as well as prime minister. They further said that following the approval of petroleum policy, the nomination of provincial directors at DGPC was made by the chief ministers of the provinces and it has nothing to do with the approval of the prime minister. The panel was informed that Punjab and Sindh so far didn't nominate any person for provincial director at the DGPC, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan have representation.
Member committee Naveed Qamar said that the ministry must present those grants, which had not been approved from the Parliament, for approval. The secretary PAC informed the members that on the directions of the committee, the PAC Secretariat wrote a letter on the subject to the finance ministry, adding that in response the finance ministry has informed that 6 years supplementary grants would be presented before the Parliament during the ongoing year for approval.
The secretary Petroleum Division briefing the meeting said that Rs 2.35 billion lapsed because the release of the amount was delayed by the finance ministry.
An amount of Rs 319.6 million were approved for gas supply schemes in district Mansehra but the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) could not utilise the amount due to late release. An amount of Rs 130 million could not be utilised for gas supply schemes of district Kasur, Rs 20 million for district Bahawalpur, Rs 170 million for Okara, Rs 160 million for district Hafizabad, Rs 340 million for district Sialkot, Rs 230 million for Sarghoda district and Rs 250 million for Tehsil Kahota of Rawalpindi could not be utilized. The committee members unanimously decided to take up the subject after the approval of supplementary grants by the Parliament.