HYDERABAD: The accountability court judge on Saturday issued non-bailable warrants (NBWs) for the arrest of six accused in a case of misappropriation of Rs4.48 billion of the Right Bank Outfall Drain (RBOD-II) project.

The court fixed the case for hearing on Feb 9 after having issued NBWs for Munawwar Bozdar, a former project director; Imran Shaikh, former superintending engineer, and four others including a woman.

The court was hearing the case after its transfer from special judge of anti-corruption (provincial) to the accountability court. The National Accounta­bility Bureau (NAB) had approached Sindh government to seek transfer of the case in October last year and the case was finally shifted early this month.

Three cases were separately lodged by Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) — two in Jamshoro district and one in Thatta district — regarding the misappropriation by junior and senior irrigation officers in the RBOD-II project. Before registration of the cases by the ACE, a departmental inquiry was conducted by chief engineer Zahid Shaikh.

The ACE said that it detected a total of Rs4.482bn fraud in the drain project and lodged two FIRs for Rs575.306 million and Rs379.744m misappropriation in Jamshoro and one about Rs527.214m graft in Thatta. The amount was fraudulently and illegally drawn by the accused in collusion with contractors, said the ACE.

The RBOD-II is considered to be a vital project for the revival of Manchhar Lake, which has seen exponential rise in pollution after fall of effluent in it. The 273km-long drain will bypass the lake after being connected to Main Nara Valley Drain through Indus link to take 3,500 cusecs of effluent to Gharo creek in Thatta.

The drain’s capacity was increased from 2,271 cusecs to 3,500 cusecs after Balochistan’s effluent was added to the RBOD during Mir Zafarullah Jamali government.

Work on the project has remained suspended for the past three to four years. Total cost of the project has been revised twice. Its revised PC-I has now put its cost at a little over Rs61bn after Executive Committee of National Economic Council (Ecnec) approved it a couple of years back.

Under the revised cost the Sindh government is supposed to share its cost which was initially worked out at Rs13.055bn and the federal share was put at Rs48.930bn. The drain remains incomplete to date. The Sindh government mulls handing over the project to Wapda for completion but the authority has not yet shown any interest.

Published in Dawn, January 31st, 2021