SUKKUR: A team of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Sukkur region raided the office of the executive engineer of the Salinity Control and Reclamation Project (SCARP), Shikarpur, and took all the records into custody.
The raid was conducted following complaints of massive corruption in the department.
The NAB team raided the office of the SCARP Executive Engineer and seized all the records pertaining to fuel consumption, maintenance and repairs. They subsequently sealed the office premises.
An official of the Irrigation Department, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told that the Scarp’s only function was to install tube wells at various sites to maintain the underground water table and release saline water into the Left Bank Outfall Drain or the Right Bank Outfall Drain. It has been observed, however, that most of the tube wells installed by the department are lying non-functional after developing faults.
At the same time, the department spends large sums of money on paper on the procurement of fuel for vehicles and for the repairs and maintenance of the tube wells.
An official of NAB, Sukkur confirmed the raid, adding that the team had sealed the office and seized several files containing records and particulars of fuel expenditures and repairs and maintenance. The official said that no arrests had been made yet but the matter was being thoroughly investigated.
