SC orders probe into Sindh Coal Authority projects

ISLAMABAD: The Sup­reme Court has ordered the Sindh chief secretary to initiate an immediate inquiry against projects worth Rs5 billion undertaken illegally by the Sindh Coal Authority (SCA).

The directions were issued in a judgement relea­sed on Friday by a three-judge Supreme Court bench, headed by Justice Amir Hani Muslim. The bench had taken suo motu notice of the matter based on an anonymous complaint, levelling serious allegations against the SCA and the Sindh energy department.

The chief secretary has been directed to submit the findings before the court within two months.

Schemes worth Rs5bn were being implemented by ‘improperly hired’ officers, says judgement
The anonymous letter had alleged that huge amounts were embezzled from projects that were being executed by persons illegally employed in the SCA. Sub­sequently, some SCA emplo­yees also submitted complaints, which were added to the allegations made in the earlier complaint.

Authored by Justice Qazi Faez Isa, the verdict recalled that when the case was taken up by the Supreme Court, Danish Saeed was SCA dir­ector general, Arif Hussain Leghari was deputy director hydrogeology, Aijaz Ali Solangi was inspector of coal mines and Zahid Hussain Tunio was prosecuting inspector.

All these appointments were made by the provincial government in apparent contravention of earlier Supreme Court judgements.

The provincial government conceded that some of the appointments were not in accordance with the law and later repatriated some officers to their respective departments. But it maintained that the appointments of the four men were made in accordance with the law.

But on March 14, 2017, the Sindh chief secretary issued a notification removing Saeed from the position of DG, accepting that the appointment was not in accordance with the Sindh Coal Authority Act (Sindh Act No.VI of 1994).

The court was also informed that the SCA had executed a number of projects/schemes without the permission, approval or sanction of its board.

These included reverse osmosis water desalination plants, drilling of bores and the installation of 250 tube wells, construction of water channels, improving and widening road networks and the construction of new roads.

The estimated cost of the projects being executed by SCA was an astronomical Rs72 billion, of which Rs5.5 billion had already been spent illegally by unqualified persons, the judgment regretted.

Justice Isa deplored that SCA was established to explore, process, mine and utilise coal in the province, but instead undertook activities the law did not permit, and that too without the approval of its board.

Virtually every government department says that it has insufficient funds, but money is miraculously found for new favourites, Justice Isa regretted in the verdict, adding that the court was told during the hearing that these projects would be handed over to regular departments of the Sindh government for operation and maintenance.

Departments that had no hand in formulating or executing the projects would assume responsibility for ensuring they were operating properly and when it emerges that a project is deficient, dysfunctional or badly executed, a blame charade will commence, the judgement regretted.

The Sindh Special Initiatives Department (SID), a new department created by amending the Sindh Government Rules of Business on May 13, 2015, embarked upon these projects, for which it had absolutely no mandate or ability.

The SCA and SID together were implementing and executing projects and schemes worth Rs105 billion, the verdict said, adding that a small clique was put in charge of these massive funds, avoiding established methods of checks and balances and circumventing the prescribed manner of implementing and executing projects, which was a matter of grave public concern, the judgment said.

Source: Dawn