ISLAMABAD: An independent professional third-party analysis has revealed a cost overstatement of Rs 6.5 billion for the partial rehabilitation of the Kuchi Canal project. WAPDA presented 158% higher cost than the original in its summary.
This third-party endorsement created a big nexus to take advantage of taxpayers’ money. Construction Minister Ahsan Iqbal had ordered a third-party verification of the cost of reconstruction of the already controversial Kutchi Canal project, damaged by floods, about 2 months ago. He gave this order suspecting a mistake in the document coming for approval.
NAB has also approved the amount estimated by the third party for complete de-silting of the canal by excavation of the original silt at the project site, highly placed sources said. The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) had conditionally approved the Rs 14.7 billion Kuchi Canal project last month based on a summary of the water resources ministry.
It was a 2022 flood recovery plan and its approval was subject to third-party verification. The ministry had forwarded a summary of WAPDA’s opinion. According to the document, out of Rs 14.7 billion, Rs 10.6 billion was the construction cost. However, third party verification has revealed that the reconstruction cost is not more than Rs 4.1 billion and the estimate is overstated by Rs 6.5 billion.
This is 158% of the original cost. It should be noted that like the Neelum Jhelum project, the Kuchi Canal project has also been controversial since its inception in 2002. The first phase of the project was completed in 2018 after many problems like incompetence, poor planning and change of project goals.
The project was designed to provide socio-economic development of the area and promote agriculture for the underprivileged population of Balochistan. The project was later shut down from July 2022 due to catastrophic floods.
According to sources, after seeing such a huge cost difference, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal has decided to present the matter to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The ministry is also considering submitting another new document based on the cost of Rs 4.1 billion as per third party verification.
Surprisingly, the third-party review has not changed WAPDA’s stated costings for the work and still shows a cost difference of Rs 6.5 billion.
For example, WAPDA quoted a cost of Rs 2.1 billion for land fill material and reduction of embankments, which according to a third party should be only Rs 91.3 crore. In this way, a difference of 1.1 billion rupees has come out in a single work.
This is the second Kutchi Canal rehabilitation project in which WAPDA’s mistake has been caught. The Planning Minister had earlier also seized the preliminary report prepared by ChatGPP on completion of the Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project tunnel.
It should be noted that the federal government wanted to partially restore the canal by ensuring the flow of at least 500 cusecs of water to Balochistan before November 15. The total capacity of this canal is 6000 cusecs of water.
The NAB, which probed the lapses in the Kachchi Canal project, has also recommended that the canal should not be fully restored until ancillary works such as management of hill streams are completed by the Punjab government.
