ISLAMABAD: A special audit of the aborted Rawalpindi Ring Road (R3) project has been ordered, which will run parallel to the inquiries being simultaneously conducted by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) of Punjab.
A letter issued by the Directorate of Audit Works (Provincial), Lahore, a copy of which was provided to The News by a source, has requisitioned the record relating to the R3 project from the Rawalpindi commissioner/project director.
The letter asked the commissioner to attach with the audit team a focal person not below the rank of grade-17 for the early production of the record and smooth working during the period of the special audit.
“The special audit will be a fishing expedition to detect any corruption and irregularities in the R3 after the ACE told the concerned authorities that it has not found anything substantial to incriminate the officials who have been accused in the Rawalpindi commissioner’s minority fact-finding report on the ring road. The report has used vague words like ‘assumed, possible, maybe’,” an official told The News.
The Punjab audit directorate has called for the record relating to the appointment and sanction of posts of the project management unit (PMU) staff; a feasibility study of the project, PC-II/estimates; tendering process for award of consultancy works; consultant’s agreements and the payment vouchers; survey by the revenue department of land for the R3; notification under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894; approval of rates of land by the district price assessment committee (DPAC), approvals from the Board of Revenue (BoR) Punjab and the award announced by the land acquisition collector (LAC) of the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) for the R3; and payments made by the LAC for land acquisition with vouchers and all supporting documents.
The audit office also requisitioned the record pertaining to approved minutes of the RDA, the project steering committee, public-private partnership (PPP) Cell/Board etc.; estimated traffic count on the R3, the financial model, request for proposal (RFP); tender sale register; approvals/no objection certificates (NOCs) issued to private housing societies on the right of way (ROW) of the R3; illegal schemes falling on the ring road; interim payment certificates and paid vouchers related to the R3; and cash book and cheque books along with bank statements.
Explaining, the official said there were three types of audit. One is called a pre-audit. Major departments have an internal resident auditor, who ensures before any payment is made whether the budget is allocated for it and whether rules and regulations have been followed. This serves as a safeguard to avoid any illegality. In the RDA’s case, a resident auditor was working, serving as a filter for all kinds of payments being made for the R3.
The second category is the standard audit. It is carried out two/three years after the completion of a project. This is a constitutional and statutory requirement.
The third type of audit is the special audit, which is ordered when it is suspected that illegalities and irregularities have been committed in a project. The norm is that an incumbent government seeks a special audit of the projects of previous regimes to discover any corruption in them.
The official said that the terms of references (TORs) of the Punjab chief secretary’s April 27 notification establishing the fact-finding committee had been framed on the pattern of an inquiry.
The TORs said: in 2017, NESPAK had drafted a reasonably suitable alignment for the R3. How did the advertised alignment emerge with its Attock Loop1 and Paswal zigzag? The addition of the Attock Loop, which was never part of the proposal by NESPAK in 2017, is prima facie indicative of possible rent seeking by both government functionaries at the helm of affairs in Rawalpindi as well as real estate players operating in the area. M1 to N5 (GT road) alignment was revised multiple times finally leading to the Paswal zigzag which again is on the surface indicative of rent seeking by some powerful rent seeking syndicate. Developing the corridor beyond M1 on a rural road (Paswal Road) instead of alignment on grid pattern suggests possible malafide. The RFP has been floated in the press without any approval of the National High Highway (NHA) for the China-Pak Economic Corridor (CPEC) route, and the Capital Development Authority (CDA) for the portions of the Paswal zigzag falling under CDA jurisdiction. It should be ascertained whether the absence of these critical agreements made the RFP void ab initio. The true picture regarding insurmountable legal impediments for allowing axle overload on a motorway was withheld from bidders in the RFP and allegedly during the pre-bid conference despite their questions and concerns. Thus, necessary disclosures were avoided and necessary information pertaining to the PPP bid was withheld from the interested private parties. This concealment makes the RFP a defective and deceptive document.
