Irregularities revealed in Sindh solar project

ISLAMABAD: Severe irregularities have been uncovered in the Sindh solar project, ARY News reported on Thursday.

The Senate Standing Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Senator Saifullah Abro, convened a meeting where officials from the Economic Affairs Division (EAD) briefed lawmakers on the alleged discrepancies.

During the briefing, Senator Abro expressed deep concern over major contradictions in the list of beneficiaries of the project. He said the beneficiary list was proven to be inaccurate. In Larkana, where 21,000 families were supposed to be registered, only 4,000 were listed.

In one irregularity, a single household received 10 solar units, while the neighbouring home received none.

Senator Abro further stated that solar kits costing Rs 18,000 were allegedly procured for Rs 60,000. Citing a report by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), he noted that the solar equipment had not even been imported, raising even more serious concerns about the project’s transparency.

The committee chair also expressed strong displeasure over the absence of key officials from the session, accusing them of deliberately avoiding the proceedings. The committee directed that the relevant officers must attend the next meeting without fail.

Earlier, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah distributed ‘solar home systems’ to people in Karachi in a ceremony.

Sindh’s chief minister called the solar energy plan a key step in collaboration with the World Bank. The CM said that 200,000 low-income households being provided solar home system.

“We have set a target of distributing 400 solar kits weekly in each district,” chief minister said.

“Green energy is the need of the time to tackle adverse impact of the climate change,” CM Shah said. He said solar plants will become helpful in providing 300 free units of solar energy.