- Grant agreement was signed on September 16, 2022.
- Amount was meant for purchase of items for flood victims.
- Utilisation of funds for other purposes unjustified.
ISLAMABAD: With Pakistan continues to face adverse repercussions of climate change, it has been revealed that grant of $3 million received from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for the 2022 flood victims of Pakistan was diverted for the rehabilitation of quake victims of Turkiye and Syria, The News reported on Wednesday.
The disclosure was made during a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) meeting chaired by Junaid Akbar Khan as the body examined the audit paras of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and Ministry of Communications for the financial years of 2022-23 and 2023-24.
The audit brief revealed that Rs552.599 million grant for purchase of items for the flood victims was diverted towards the rehabilitation of victims of Turkiye and Syria.
The $3 million grant agreement was signed on September 16, 2022 for emergency response against the flood 2022 in Pakistan. The NDMA procured winterised tents and blankets out of the ADB grant during the Financial Year 2022-23 for the flood-affected people of Pakistan.
However, the NDMA’s audit for the Financial Year 2022-23 disclosed that it was observed that in contravention of provisions of the grant agreement and the stated purposes, the winterised tents and blankets procured out of the ADB grant for the flood victims of Pakistan were dispatched to the aforementioned two countries.
The grant was specifically meant for the provision of life-preserving services to the communities affected by the monsoon flood 2022; therefore, the utilisation of the grant for other purposes was unjustified, depriving the flood victims.
The management replied that the relief items (tents, blankets) procured out of the ADB grant had to be diverted to the earthquake-affected population of Turkiye, Syria due to the very tight timeline of relief operation given by the prime minister and had also been recouped, re-stocked for the purpose grant was made.
In a DAC dated February 26, 2025, it was apprised to DAC that NDMA dispatched relief items to catastrophic struck areas people on PM’s directives so there was no issue of unauthorised issuance of flood relief items. The committee has sought a report on this issue within a month.