Ghost development schemes unearthed in interior Sindh

ISLAMABAD: Development work in the interior Sindh is massive on papers and also in terms of money spent but when it comes to real life the on ground work is missing in innumerable cases.
In a shocking development, the NAB Sindh has discovered hundreds of development projects of several town/taluka municipal bodies in the interior of Sindh where the payments have been made against the projects but there is no work done on ground.
This situation is described by a source as “ghost development”, adding that dozens of the projects have already been identified where millions of taxpayers money have been spent without any work on the ground.
Usually such ghost development is associated with Balochistan- the province which has been greatly deprived of basic needs like roads, schools, colleges, hospitals etc because the allocated development money generally goes to the pockets of the ruling political and bureaucratic elite of the province.
The details of development work in the interior Sindh carried out by the local municipal bodies as gathered by the NAB Sindh also present a sorry state of affairs in the Interior Sindh.
In several cases the NAB had got the plundered money back from contractors through voluntarily return option and in some other cases plea bargain has also been done.
In certain cases references have also been filed whereas a number of cases are presently being probed by the NAB Sindh.
The NAB sources though shared with The News almost two dozens of such schemes in district Jamshoro alone, it is said that almost every district in the interior Sindh is facing similar situation where public money is massively wasted.
“Majority of the development schemes are completed only on papers,” the source lamented.
In the district Jamshooro alone, the ghost schemes includes Rs 7.5m construction of CC block and surface drain for various villages of UC Dal; Rs 7.5m construction of surface drains for various villages of UC Bubak; Rs 5m project of providing, laying, jointing G.I pipe for different Mohallas of Sehwan Sharif; Rs 10m worth scheme for construction of surface of drains for various villages of UC Bhan Saeedabad; Rs 15m scheme for the construction of protection wall around laqoons (tanks) fencing and CC for water supply main scheme Sehwan Sharif; Rs 45m scheme for construction of Sweeper colony TMA Sehwan Sharif; Rs 17.5m scheme for construction of surface drains for different Mohallas/villages of UC Dal Taluka Sehwan Sharif; Rs 17.5m construction of open surface drain for different Muhallas of UC.I Sehwan Sharif; Rs 3m for paving tile on footpath from degree college road Sehwan Sharif; Rs 2.9m for construction of open surface drain for Bhutto Muhalla to DDO Revenue Office Sehwan Sharif; Rs 2m construction of open surface drain from old bus stop to Hamzo Muhallah UC-II, Sehwan Sharif; Rs 2m for construction of open surface drain for Karbala Muhalla UC II Sehwan Sharif; Rs 2.6m worth water supply scheme in front of new bus stop Sehwan Sharif; Rs 5m for construction of protection wall around storage tank No 4 for urban water supply scheme Sehwan Sharif; Rs 2m construction of surface drains for various villages of UC-II Sehwan Sharif; Rs 1.7m for construction of open surface drain for different villages of UC Bubak; Rs 3m project for construction of type C drain from mini stadium to Railways station Sehwan; Rs 1.7m project for construction of surface drain for different Muhallas of UC-II Sehwan Sharif; Rs 1.7m project of construction of surface drains for different Muhallah of UC Talti Taluka Sehwan Sharif; Rs 6m project for CC path at storage tanks for urban water supply scheme Sehwan Sharif; Rs 2m project for construction of surface drains for different Muhallas of UC-I Sehwan Sharif; Rs 1.7m worth construction of surface drain for different Muhallas UC Channa Taluka Sehwan Sharif; Rs 1.7m worth scheme for the construction of open surface drains for various villages of UC Bhan Saeedabad; Rs 240m worth scheme for desalination plant with capacity of one million gallon per day for Bubak Town and 68 villages located in the vicinity of Taluka Sehwan District Jamshoro; and Rs 130m scheme for the construction of rural water supply scheme Jhangara, Bajara and adjoining villages of Sehwan Sharif.