Rs4.8 billion imported solar lights installed at residences of govt officials

MIRPURKHAS: Gross irregularities were found in the hugely-funded solar street lights project, as the costly lights were installed in official residences of powerful government officers.
According to sources privy to the development, the Rural Development Department (RDD), Sindh, was overseeing the solar lights project in Sindh initiated at the cost of Rs4.80 billion. An amount of Rs700 million was spent on three districts of Mirpurkhas Division alone in the name of street lighting with the installation of 3,500 solar lamps in this area.
It may be mentioned that the cost of one imported solar light is Rs200,000. The preferences for installation of solar lights are apparently officers’ residences and the roads leading to their offices.
This has raised many questions how the bureaucracy had turned this important public project to their own interest. On the one side, their official residences and surroundingsthat how bureaucracy turned this important public project to their own sides and interests.
On the one side their official residences and surroundings are lightened even during load shedding while at the same time thickly populated areas with heavy traffic remain plunged into darkness throughout the night. It is interesting to note that this project was not included in the ADP for the current fiscal year.
CM Sindh especially approved this project for rural Sindh areas. Interstingly, when this correspondent started investigating the matters related to this project and contacted the concerned authorities, the PC-1 of project was instantly removed from the RDD website. Under PPRA rules it is mandatory for a department to place the PC1 of huge-funded projects for public. When contacted, Abdul Sattar Qureshi DG RDD claimed that the said project is very much transparent and nothing is fishy in it. He also offered that he would be ready if the NAB investigated the project. However, he could not give satisfactory answer as how influential officers’ residences and their surrounding areas were focused in this project.