SHC seeks details of special packages, funds for Larkana

The Sindh High Court directed the advocate general of the province on Thursday to submit details of funds and special packages, if any, other than the annual development program, announced for Larkana since 2008.

The directive came at a hearing of a petition of a Larkana resident seeking an inquiry into the alleged misappropriation and embezzlement of over Rs12 billion funds allocated for the development and beautification of the city.

Bashir Ahmed, a resident of Larkana, said that after the 2008 elections, apart from other development schemes, a project to build roads and drains in the city had been announced and Rs12 billions funds had been allocated for the project.

He alleged that roads and other development works were completed without any proper planning and substandard material was used by the respondents to embezzle development funds.

The petitioner pointed out that most of the reconstructed roads had disintegrated in rains, and several roads had developed cracks at different places. Also, he said, none of the roads in the Larkana city had been improved or widened. 

He said citizens were facing hardships in the shape of traffic jams, dust-polluted air, stagnant sewage on roads and frequent accidents. 

He further alleged that large sums of money had been misappropriated from the annual development programme for Larkana.

He asked the court to order the constitution of a committee comprising honest town planners and other technical persons to probe into ill-planning and the misappropriation of funds by the respondent in the name of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

The petitioner also filed a memorandum along with a number of documents with regard to the development projects, which were taken on record.

Advocate General Zamir Ghumro submitted that he had called officers from Larkana to ascertain details about funds and special packages, but the officers could not come. He requested time to act on the court directives. 

A division bench, headed by Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, granted time and adjourned the hearing till February 21. The court also told the directed advocate general and the counsel for Faryal Talpur and Farooq H Naek to submit replies to the application of the petitioner for the restoration of the petition.

Earlier, the court was informed by the AG that Rs38,397.08 million had been allocated for development projects since 2008, of which Rs31,852.13 million had been released and Rs23.119.69 million had been spent. 

The court directed the advocate general to provide details and breakdown of projects on which Rs23,119.68 million had been spent.

PPP women’s wing leader and MNA Faryal Talpur, who is also a sister of party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, former town Nazim Dr Shafqat Hussain Soomro, former law minister Ayaz Soomro, the former DCO, deputy commissioner, project director of the Larkana development project, among others, had been named as respondents in the petition.