Diamer-Bhasha Dam project: Rs25.744m irregular expenditure identified

ISLAMABAD: Audit authorities have identified irregular expenditure of Rs 25.744 million in the Diamer Bhasha Dam Project (DBDP) due to the unauthorized attachment and payment of salaries to officers not working on the project.

According to audit findings, there was no provision for the posts of Staff Officers (SOs) to the Chairman at the Liaison Office, Islamabad, in the approved PC-I. And only one post of Chief Logistic Officer was sanctioned for the Logistics Cell, while no post of Advisor (HR & Logistics) existed in the PC-I.

As per Para-5 of the Administrative Approval of the project, all codal formalities and guidelines were required to be strictly followed during implementation. Furthermore, Para-9.3.23 of the Wapda Budget Manual stipulates that expenses of the Authority and its central offices are to be met through overhead costs charged to projects at specified rates.

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During the audit of accounts of the CEO/GM DBDC, along with GM (LA&R), Chilas, for the period July 2024 to June 2025, it was observed that two officers —Director (Civil) and Deputy Director (PR) — had been attached as Staff Officers to the Chairman Wapda Office, Islamabad, since September 9, 2021, and September 22, 2022, respectively.

In addition, an officer appointed as Chief Logistic Officer for the DBDP on December 1, 2020, was later given additional charge of GM (LA&R/HRD) Wapda on October 11, 2022, and remained posted in Lahore. Subsequently, he was reappointed as Advisor (HR & Logistics) on January 31, 2025, despite the absence of such a post in the PC-I, and continued to serve in Lahore instead of Chilas.

Audit noted that despite not working on the DBDP or performing duties related to the project, these officers were paid salaries and allowances amounting to Rs25.744 million (Rs 17.717 million and Rs 8.027 million) from funds allocated for dam construction. The audit concluded that charging these expenses to the project was unjustified.

The non-adherence to PC-I provisions and relevant rules resulted in irregular expenditure up to FY 2024-25 due to the unauthorized attachment of officers outside the project.

The matter was taken up with the management in September 2025 and reported to the Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR) in December 2025. The management responded that the officers were posted with the Chairman’s Office in the best interest of the Authority’s work.

However, the audit rejected the response, stating that the postings in Islamabad and Lahore were in clear violation of PC-I provisions.

The audit observation (PDP-219/2025-26) was discussed in the Departmental Accounts Committee (DAC) meeting held on January 23, 2026. However, the minutes of the meeting were not provided by the Principal Accounting Officer (PAO), MoWR, until the finalization of the audit report.

Audit has recommended that the management immediately stop the payment of salaries of these officers from project funds and ensure recovery of the amount already paid from the Coordination Wing, Wapda, which is responsible for meeting the Authority’s expenditures.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026