GILGIT, July 4: Around 27 virtual non-governmental organisations, which exist only on papers, are eating up funds provided by donor agencies and the government for environmental conservation, senior officials in the local administration told Dawn.

An officer, who has been tasked with looking into the matter thoroughly, has reported that up till now these ghost NGOs had misappropriated more than Rs20 million provided by the Federal Ministry of Environment and international donor agencies.

Requesting not to be named, a senior official privy to the investigation said the funding made between 1999 and 2006 was misappropriated, adding that only three organisations had utilised the grants judiciously.

The official said physical verification and technical investigations were being done in order to check to what extent the funding made by the government was spent on the projects.

He said recommendations were also being sent to higher authorities for implementing a comprehensive mechanism to ensure transparency.

GRID STATION: The water and power department in the Northern Areas will establish a main grid station to centralise the electricity supply system, sources told this correspondent.