PESHAWAR: Auditors have detected a long delay in the revamping of district headquarters hospitals in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa despite the payment of Rs1.08 billion to the Infrastructure Development Authority of Punjab (IDAP) around three and a half years ago.

They recommended an investigation to determine responsibility and hold officials accountable.

In a report, the Auditor-General Khyber Pakhtunkhwa said a contract was signed between the KP health department and IDAP on June 30, 2021, under which the latter was required to execute “infrastructure improvement work” in 13 DHQ hospitals of the province under Phases I and II of the Revamping of the Non-Teaching District Headquarters Hospitals (DHQs) project.

The IDAP was bound by the agreement to start work on the revamping programme after receiving payment of 25pc “mobilisation advance” as per requirement of the agreement.

The annual audit of the records of the Directorate General Health Services Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the financial year 2023-24 revealed that Rs1.08 billion was paid to IDAP on account of mobilisation advance for infrastructure improvement in 13 hospitals under the project.

Auditors recommend probe, accountability of culpable officials

Under the agreement, the health department was required to pay 25pc of the infrastructure improvement cost amounting to Rs2.8 billion and Rs4.37 billion for Phase I and Rs6.272 billion and Rs11.19 billion for Phase II.

However, the project management paid just Rs1.08 billion and IDAP refused to initiate infrastructure improvement work in the designated hospitals despite a lapse of three and half years. The project’s steering committee, in its meeting on May 2, 2024, requested the termination of the agreement with IDAP and retrieval of the paid amount along with interest, according to the report.

It added that as a result of a lack of government interest coupled with financial constraints and ill-planning, work on infrastructure improvement wasn’t initiated by the contractor, leaving Rs1.08 billion cash “idle” with IDAP.

The auditors said the lapse occurred due to poor planning and lack of government interest, which led to the blocking of funds in light of the non-initiation of infrastructure improvement work.

According to General Financial Rule 12, a controlling officer must see not only that the total expenditure is kept within the limits of the authorised appropriation but also that the funds allotted to spending units are spent in the public interest and on work for which the money was provided.

In order to maintain proper control, the officer should arrange to be kept informed, not only of what has actually been spent from an appropriation but also what commitments and liabilities have been and will be incurred against it. The officer must be in a position to assume before the government and the Public Accounts Committee, if necessary, complete responsibility for departmental expenditure and to explain or justify any instance of excess or financial irregularity that may be brought to notice as a result of audit scrutiny or otherwise.

The report said the auditors pointed out the matter in Nov 2024 but there was no reply from relevant quarters, so they recommended proper investigation to fix responsibility for “ill-planning and lack of financial oversight” so that the officials involved should be held accountable.

Published in Dawn, March 12th, 2025