Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: During the tenure of Railway Minister Saad Rafique engines have started consuming more fuel, Daily Times learnt via classified documents.

Interestingly, the trains have covered less distance as compared to the last government’s tenure.

The Railway Ministry failed to satisfy the competent authority for spending an extra Rs 2 billion for buying fuel.

According to documents, the oil per km increased from Rs 136.22 to Rs 359.78 after Saad Rafique took charge of the ministry.

The documents show that the cost of HSD oil consumption during the first year of the PPP government was Rs 411.58 million and the cost increased to Rs 6785.43 million in 2013-14 when after the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz came to power. The classified document also reveals that despite exorbitant consumption of oil the train covered less distances which was 30 million km in 2008 that came down to 18.86 million Km per year.

The government claimed that oil prices in the international market were higher but the ground realities show that the prices went down considerably during 2013-14 in comparison to 2008 -9.

The competent authority also noted that the government controlled the oil prices in the country and the Pakistan Railway had bought oil from the government entity not from the open market.

An official said the exorbitant consumption of diesel could become a mega corruption scandal if properly probed.

He also said that NAB had already been interrogating more than a dozen officials from the Railway Ministry on corruption charges, but no one has been convicted due to weak investigation. Document also read that during 2008 trains covered a total distance of 30.18 million km and consumed diesel worth Rs 136.22 per Km. In 2013, the train covered only 18.86 km but consumed Rs 6.8 billion.

Daily Times contacted both Saad Rafique and railway secretary but they did not bother to comment.