SOME PTI leaders have accused Sindh’s PPP government of corruption in the reverse osmosis (RO) project. After Rs33 billion have been spent, the peolple of Thar do not have a safe drop of water to drink.

The report of the Commission of Inquiry headed by Justice Muhammad Iqbal Kalhoro of Feb 27, 2017, (available at http://scp.gov.pk/Details.aspx?N375) names the officials who were given the RO plant work.

The inquiry report says: “Therefore, there appears no justification to continue with these RO plants and spend millions and millions of rupees blindly on their so-called O&M, when we neither know the quality of the water being supplied from these plants nor the quantity against which we are making payments.

“All RO plants have been awarded to Pak Oasis without completing due formalities. The report of director general, Audit Sindh (Annexure K-1) submitted during the inquiry has pointed out to this fact, besides revealing many discrepancies in the tendering process causing huge loss to the government in the whole scheme of RO plants.

“The way these RO plants are shown to be working and producing drinkable water as per WHO standards is nothing but a farce. Pak Oasis seems to be earning millions of rupees through these RO. Plants, which do not produce good quality water for drinking. So far billions of rupees, as is shown in this document above, have been wasted in the name of these RO plants without any justification for these plants in some cases to even exist. Neither the quality of water through labs nor its quantity through any metering system is being analysed at any of the RO plants, yet the payments are being made by the Sindh government.”

The PTI leaders should lodge a case with the Supreme Court and recover the money.

Name withheld on request
Hyderabad

Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2020