The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Tuesday questioned the surrender and lapse of billions of rupees in development funds, delays in major road projects and frequent increases in toll rates during a review of audit objections. The meeting, chaired by acting PAC Chairperson Shahida Akhtar Ali, took up an audit objection relating to the Ministry of Communications for 2024-25 regarding the lapse of grants exceeding Rs120 million and surrender of grants worth more than Rs9 billion.
According to audit documents, Rs5.69 billion allocated for the Sukkur-Hyderabad Motorway project was surrendered due to non-finalisation of the procurement process. Syed Aminul Haque raised questions regarding the M-6 and M-9 projects. Officials informed the committee that the first 16 kilometres of M-10 fall within the urban area.
Syed Hussain Tariq referred to an alleged embezzlement case involving funds for the M-6 project and asked whether the misappropriated amount had been recovered. Officials said that part of the amount had been recovered and that some individuals had also been arrested. Chairperson Shahida Akhtar Ali observed that proper monitoring could have ensured the utilisation of funds.
Senator Bilal Mandokhail also sought details about the number of times the M-9 had undergone repairs, while the acting chairperson asked whether the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) was carrying out its maintenance. The committee was informed that audit paras relating to the FWO were also under consideration. Shahida Akhtar Ali noted that FWO representatives were often absent from PAC meetings and stressed that they should attend when matters concerning the organisation were being discussed.
The PAC also reviewed an audit objection concerning incomplete work worth Rs4.2 billion on the Jaglot-Skardu Road. Audit officials said the project, which was scheduled for completion in 2020, had been directed by the Departmental Accounts Committee (DAC) to be completed by December 2026. The secretary communications told the committee that the project had achieved 86 per cent physical progress and assured members that it would be completed by December 2026.
Questioning the delay, Shahida Akhtar Ali observed that the project had failed to meet its original deadline and said violations of rules had occurred. While the communications secretary said there had been considerable improvement, the acting chairperson remarked that even projects scheduled for three months were sometimes not completed within seven months. The committee also discussed frequent increases in toll rates.
Shahida Akhtar Ali said toll rates were being increased twice or thrice in a month, while Senator Afnanullah Khan maintained that toll charges were already sufficiently high. Federal Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry pointed to the heavy volume of traffic on the Peshawar-Karachi GT Road and asked when toll plazas across the network would be shifted to the M-Tag system. He said mafias had been involved in the system in the past.
The communications secretary informed the committee that around 85 per cent of vehicles were using M-Tag. NHA officials said the M-Tag system was already operational on motorways and would gradually be replicated across all highways. They added that efforts were under way to make the toll collection system barrier-free.