LAHORE: Detention of trains as a result of delay in execution of project for restoration of signaling system at the 28 railway stations, set ablaze in riots following assassination of Benazir Bhutto in December 2007, has led to a loss of Rs49.480 million so far, says the Performance Audit Report 2013.

“The project will not be completed in the next 10 years if there will be the same position of progress of work,” says the report on “Rehabilitation of railway assets damaged during the riots of 27th and 28th December 2007” finalised by the Auditor-General of Pakistan.

“Based on misleading figures of project cost – showing 0.27 per cent increase against the actual 61 per cent – the revised PC-I for the project was got approved from the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC),” according to the audit conducted in accordance with the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) Auditing Standards.

It says two agreements were executed on a turnkey basis under the revised PC-I at “very high rates” -- one on Dec 2, 2008, for restoration of signaling system at five railway stations of Karachi division with the face value of Rs160.264 million while the other on Oct 5, 2009, for the design, manufacture, supply, installation and commissioning of modern signaling system at 23 railway stations at a freight on board cost of Swedish Krona 410, 227,412.

It says a full-time and competent project director was not appointed, which delayed the execution work manifold. Work on five railway stations was to be completed in eight months and on 23 others in 24 months but trains continued to operate on the 18th century Paper Line Clear (PLC) system there, causing a four-hour detention of every express train on an average.

Conducted in April this year, the audit reveals that an amount of Rs5,136.761 million was incurred for the unnecessary installation of Computer Base Interlocking (CBI) signaling system at 18 railway stations. One railway station was also included for the installation of CBI signaling system irregularly without approval of competent authority, which caused loss of Rs285.376 million.

Provision of CBI signaling system at five railway stations by incurring an amount of Rs1,426.878 million was also unjustified because the existing signaling system was already working satisfactorily.

Some 20 officers of the signaling department were imparted training at the Railways Walton Academy at an exorbitant amount of Rs8.746 million. Excessive manpower engaged by the project management resulted in loss of Rs6.931 million.

The audit report points out ‘extensive financial indiscipline’ in the project as its management could not provide record of 47 different heads to the auditors for scrutiny as expenditure register was not maintained properly. Up to June 2012, an amount of Rs3,352.270 million was reported as incurred but not a single station was completed or opened for traffic.

Another Rs1.825 million and Rs1.300 million were incurred for unjustified or unnecessary local purchase of different items at higher rates for the project director and additional general manager (infrastructure), respectively.

The auditors find that civil work valuing Rs141.296 million was awarded on limited tenders without releasing advertisement in newspapers or websites. An amount of Rs82.075 million was incurred in excess of proportionate cost in the construction of residential building. Another Rs135.343 million was incurred unnecessarily on the construction of residential and station building while substandard electric and civil work was carried out.