THERE has been a constant debate on poor governance across the country, and how it has impacted the economy and the common man. The irregularities surrounding a fake ‘development project’ in the so-called ‘Muhammad Salah Shahliani Jamali village’ add to that debate. The rural water supply scheme has the serial number 3107 in the 2026-27 budget document for Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) in Sindh.

According to the document, its approval date is Nov 7, 2025, and it is scheduled to be completed in June 2027 in a village that is said to have a population of 3,000. The fact of the matter is that no such village actually exists in the Garhi Khairo taluka of Jacobabad district.

When I made inquiries, the mukhtiarkar of Garhi Khairo denied the existence of any such village. It simply means that the water scheme would be ‘executed’ only on paper, and money will be pocketed by some unscrupulous vultures present in the system that badly needs an overhaul.

Despite official records reflecting allocation and progress on the said scheme, the ground reality presents a different picture, raising serious questions regarding transparency, financial misappropriation and the lack of oversight in local development initiatives. Taxpayer funds intended for public infrastructure and community welfare should not be allowed to disappear into ghost projects without accountability.

Will anti-corruption agencies and state audit departments launch an immediate and transparent inquiry into the matter?

Abdul Rehman Buledi
Jacobabad

Published in Dawn, October 15th, 2026