Peshawar (Agencies)” The Auditor General of Pakistan’s 2022-23 audit report has revealed irregularities amounting to billions of rupees in the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project. The report disclosed that an expenditure of PKR 13 billion was made by Trans Peshawar without technical approval.
The audit report highlighted that unnecessary payments of PKR 7.7 million were made in the form of salaries and allowances under various contracts of BRT. It also pointed out that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government provided a substantial subsidy in projects built on loans, leading to unjustified expenditure in the BRT project.
The report further revealed that Trans Peshawar made illegal payments of PKR 13 billion to companies without obtaining approval from the competent authority. It also noted that contractors benefited from contracts that did not receive approval from the law department.
The audit report criticized Trans Peshawar for not providing purchase and other records. It also highlighted that the company does not have details of income from rental and other sources.
The report pointed out that savings due to an increase in the dollar value have not been deposited in the government treasury. Additionally, due to the non-increase in rent, the government exchequer suffered a loss of PKR 3 billion in the form of subsidy.
Despite a hike in petroleum product prices, fares were not increased. The provincial government had claimed to run the project without subsidy, but the income from the project has not been deposited in the government treasury.
The report also mentioned that the record of income earned in the interest of money kept in banks for the project has not been provided. Due to the non-completion of the construction of the project depot, the government suffered a loss of PKR 22 million.
Lastly, the report revealed that token taxes of buses are being paid by Trans Peshawar instead of private companies, leading to a loss of PKR 3 million. The findings of the report call for immediate corrective measures to address these irregularities.