Nandipur has become a shrouded mystery with mind boggling disclosures of wasted money, bad management and seeming corruption. The latest report of Auditor General of Pakistan published in an English paper points a finger at the Ministry and Board of Directors for the fiasco that resulted in the escalation of the project costs from Rs22 billion to 58 billion i.e., 153 percent increase which cannot be imagined by a sane person and the project is still having fitful starts. It is stated that even there was no provision for the post of a MD which was appointed presumably to favour an appointee.
The project was initially proposed to run on hydel power but came to depend on thermal power or gas. The type of machinery used does not appear to fit any requirement. This is a glaring case of mismanagement and apparent corruption that is a hallmark of Sharif’s government that is robbing with both hands the national exchequer. All their projects including the Metro lines and Orange trains are running into manifold increases compared to similar projects elsewhere in the world. This amounts to highway robbery. They have become typical robber barons in true sense of the word.
DR MUHAMMAD YAQOOB BHATTI
Lahore
