Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Former Balochistan chief minister Abdul Malik Baloch remained indifferent to the problems of the people of Balochistan and did not spend Rs 24.50 billion funds allocated for the province.

Financial irregularities of Rs 40 billion were committed during one year due to which these funds lapsed. According to official documents available with Daily Times, the Baloch-led government did not use the funds for development of the province and spent billions of rupees on non-development works.

Baloch has completed two-and-a-half years of his rule over Balochistan as part of a power-sharing formula and now Sardar Sanaullah Khan Zehri of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has replaced him as chief minister of Balochistan. Most of the people in Balochistan are living a life below the poverty line.

The documents show that a sum of Rs 24.50 billion was earmarked in the annual budget for the year 2014 for completion of schemes under different departments, but these departments failed to identify the schemes and use these funds. Various officials have deposited these funds in their accounts instead of returning these to the federal or the provincial finance ministry.

A high level meeting was held on unused funds where the officials concerned failed to give a satisfactory answer to their seniors. The federal government has directed the provincial finance ministry to ensure effective use of development funds to improve the living standards in Balochistan.

Documents show that the Baloch-led government issued cheques of more than Rs 13 billion, but they bounced because there was no money in the bank accounts against which these cheques were issued. The contractors filed complaints in this respect and timely payments could not be made to certain departments.

The documents said that the Planning and Works Department was among the most affected departments because various government departments owed it a sum of more than Rs 2.44 billion in 2013, while it had to make payments of Rs 80 billion in 2014. Funds amounting to Rs 80.37 billion were in the government accounts. Cheques were dishonoured for a lack of funds amounting to Rs 3.25 billion. The payment against these cheques has not been made so far. As many as nine foreign funded projects worth billions of rupees are under construction and the officials overseeing these projects have refused to give the details of the expenditure to the concerned authorities. Corruption of billions of rupees is feared in these projects.

According to the documents financial irregularities of Rs 40 billion came to light in 2014 in Balochistan. The Balochistan government suffered a loss of Rs 620 million in different projects. The responsibility for failure of these projects has been fixed on the provincial planning department. The provincial government has incurred Rs 472 million expenses on shady projects.

The Baloch-led government made an additional payment of Rs 220 million to its favourite contractors. Tax evasion of Rs 167 million has also come to fore in Balochistan.

Officers of the provincial government embezzled Rs 840 million during one year of the Baloch government and wasted Rs 620 million due to negligence. When contacted, Balochistan finance secretary, Chief Minister’s House and other officials refused to comment on this issue.

Senator Hasil Bizenjo said the Baloch-led government executed development projects according to its mandate and no major scandal had come to the fore. He said that no evidence of financial irregularities had come to light during the Baloch government. He said the Baloch-led government ensured good governance and set new records of development projects in backward areas.