ISLAMABAD: A comprehensive audit of the Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR) and its subsidiary entities has uncovered financial discrepancies and irregularities totaling Rs7.02 billion during FY2024-25.
The evaluation by AGP scrutinized 112 formations of the ministry, covering a total expenditure of Rs359.6 billion and receipts of Rs194.2 billion for the fiscal period.
Out of the total irregularities pointed out by the auditors, a meager recovery of Rs2.821 million was effected and verified between January and December. The newly released report on Ministry of Water Resources and its Entities highlights systemic internal control failures, rampant violations of procurement rules, and significant management lapses across multiple formations, including the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda).
The Auditor-General’s report categorized the irregularities into seven distinct areas of institutional failure:
1) Financial Management Issues (24 Cases): The highest number of infractions occurred in core financial management. The report highlights abnormal delays in the construction of powerhouses resulting in severe generation losses, an inability to recover hefty receivables, and a critical failure to open dedicated bank accounts for keeping retention money.
2) Contract Management Irregularities (18 Cases): Auditors discovered that projects were consistently initiated without proper feasibility studies or detailed designs. This led to excessive reliance on Variation Orders (VOs) that surpassed original contract prices, alongside frequent unapproved changes to project scopes.
3) Human Resource and Employee Lapses (5 Cases): The audit raised serious observations regarding lack of transparency in the recruitment processes and the unauthorized or non-compliant granting of different allowances to employees.
4) Procurement Management Violations (4 Cases): Substantial deviations from the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) Rules and Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) guidelines were recorded, involving non-adherence to standard bidding procedures and excess/overpayments made directly to contractors.
5) Asset Management Issues (4 Cases): The ministry failed to safeguard its assets effectively, displaying poor oversight over land and building encroachments, unresolved property disputes, and weak inventory management at various stores.
6) Project Planning Failures (4 Cases): Severe mismanagement resulted in massive cost and time overruns. Projects were consistently launched based on unrealistic surveys, which directly contributed to delayed execution and compromised performance.
7) Operation Management Weaknesses (3 Cases): The report identified operational inefficiencies across major Civil and Electrical & Mechanical (E&M) works, casting strong doubt on the efficacy of the ministry’s internal audit departments.
The report further levelled harsh criticism against WAPDA and the MoWR’s internal check systems, stating that the recurrence of frequent irregularities “casts doubt on the effectiveness of Internal Audit”.
The Departmental Accounts Committee (DAC) has since directed management to ensure the immediate recovery and adjustment of Rs1,339.606 million from defaulting contractors.
The audit further pointed out that critical mega-projects- including the Diamer Basha Dam, Dasu Hydropower Project, and Mohmand Dam- are lagging significantly behind their planned progress targets. For instance, the Dasu Hydropower Project achieved only a 26.08% actual progress rate against a planned 70.60% target by the end of the evaluation window.
The Principal Accounting Officer (PAO) has been urged to immediately establish a strict mechanism to monitor project timelines, enforce PPRA rules, and proactively resolve outstanding land and litigation issues to prevent further drain on public funds.
