ISLAMABAD: Audit authorities have identified irregular expenditure amounting to Rs25.744 million in the Diamer-Bhasha Dam Project (DBDP), citing the unauthorized attachment of officers to the Chairman Wapda’s office and the payment of their salaries from project funds despite their not performing duties related to the dam project.
According to the audit report, the project’s approved PC-I did not include posts for Staff Officers to the Chairman at the Liaison Office in Islamabad. It also sanctioned only one position of Chief Logistic Officer for the Logistics Cell, with no provision for the post of Advisor (HR & Logistics).
The audit noted that project implementation was required to comply with all codal formalities under the project’s administrative approval, while the Wapda Budget Manual stipulates that expenses of the Authority and its central offices should be met through overhead charges rather than direct project funds.
During the audit of accounts of the CEO/General Manager, Diamer-Bhasha Dam Project, and the General Manager (Land Acquisition & Resettlement), Chilas, covering July 2024 to June 2025, it was found that two officers—a Director (Civil) and a Deputy Director (Public Relations)—had been serving as Staff Officers to the Chairman Wapda in Islamabad since September 2021 and September 2022, respectively.
The audit further revealed that an officer originally appointed as Chief Logistic Officer for the project in December 2020 was subsequently assigned additional responsibilities as General Manager (LA&R/HRD), Wapda, in October 2022 and remained posted in Lahore. Later, in January 2025, he was redesignated as Advisor (HR & Logistics)—a position not approved under the project’s PC-I—while continuing to serve in Lahore instead of the project site in Chilas.
Audit authorities observed that although these officers were not working on the Diamer-Bhasha Dam Project, salaries and allowances totaling Rs25.744 million—including Rs17.717 million and Rs8.027 million—were paid from funds allocated for the construction of the dam. The audit concluded that charging these expenses to the project was unjustified and constituted irregular expenditure.
The matter was raised with project management in September 2025 and subsequently reported to the Ministry of Water Resources in December 2025. In its response, the management stated that the officers had been posted to the Chairman’s Office in the best interest of Wapda’s operations. However, the audit rejected this explanation, maintaining that the postings in Islamabad and Lahore violated the approved PC-I provisions.
The audit observation was discussed during a Departmental Accounts Committee (DAC) meeting held on January 23, 2026, but the audit noted that the meeting minutes had not been provided by the Principal Accounting Officer of the Ministry of Water Resources before the report was finalized.
The audit has recommended that Wapda immediately discontinue the payment of salaries for these officers from Diamer-Bhasha Dam Project funds and recover the Rs25.744 million already paid from the Authority’s Coordination Wing, which is responsible for financing Wapda’s administrative expenditures.
Story by Mushtaq Ghumman
