PAC slams energy department over billions in irregularities, warns of strict accountability

QUETTA (6 AM Report): The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) delivered a stern warning to the Energy Department over massive budget irregularities and mismanagement during a meeting chaired by Asghar Ali Tareen today.
The session was attended by PAC members Fazal Qadir Mandokhail, Wali Muhammad Noorzai, Rahmat Saleh Baloch, Safia Bibi, along with special invitees including Opposition Leader Yunus Aziz Zehri, Assembly Secretary Tahir Shah Kakr, DG Audit Shuja Ali, Deputy Accountant General Hafiz Noor-ul-Haq, and Additional Secretary PAC Siraj Lehri.
The committee revealed that during the fiscal year 2021-22, the Energy Department received PKR 10.4 billion, of which only PKR 8 billion was spent while PKR 2.31 billion lapsed unutilized. Members criticized the failure to fully use allocated funds, calling it a reflection of irresponsible budgeting and ineffective fund management. Wali Muhammad Noorzai described the 30% lapse as a major violation, while Fazal Qadir Mandokhail warned that responsible officials would face punishment.
The PAC unanimously decided that the Chief Secretary would be instructed to ensure that any secretary who fails to return excess funds over 5% of the budget to the treasury would face strict action.
The meeting also exposed PKR 40 billion in irregularities in subsidized tube wells, where payments of PKR 10 billion to QESCO and PKR 30 billion to K-Electric were made without proper meter readings, based purely on estimates. PAC members criticized the Energy Department for failing to act on a 2021 PAC inquiry and warned that continued negligence could lead to referral to NAB.
Committee members highlighted unpaid electricity duties and sales tax, revealing that QESCO collected PKR 989 million in electricity duty but did not transfer the provincial share, while PKR 62 million in service sales tax deductions was also withheld, causing significant loss to the provincial treasury.
Chairman Asghar Ali Tareen condemned issuing bills without meter readings and emphasized that billions in subsidies had been disbursed recklessly. Members stressed that the department’s lack of preparation for such a high-level forum was unacceptable and warned that non-seriousness and mismanagement would no longer be tolerated.
The PAC’s scrutiny unveiled deep-rooted corruption and mismanagement within the Energy Department, with members asserting that implementing the committee’s directives could save the Balochistan treasury billions of rupees.