Islamabad [Pakistan], December 7 (ANI): Pakistan's Auditor General report has revealed financial irregularities worth over Rs 2.77 billion in Peshawar's Bus Rapid Transport project.

SAMAA TV cited the AGP report as saying that the changes made to the design of the mega-project have increased its cost by Rs17 billion (from Rs 49 billion to Rs 66 billion).

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The report has further highlighted that "unauthorised payments" of Rs 17.7 million were made to several officials including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's additional chief secretary, from the Project Implementation Unit's fund, SAMAA TV said.

After the revelation, Ikhtiyar Wali, Pakistani Muslim League (Nawaz) (PML-N) spokesperson from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has demanded the accused to be brought to justice and the BRT project be handled by a third party.

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Meanwhile, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's provincial minister Shaukat Yousafzai has refuted the report of any corruption in the BRT project.

This comes weeks after Pakistan's high-quality bus-based transit system came under the line of fire when one of its buses broke down on the main corridor near the Abdara station leading to the social media users questioning the country's bus-based transit system and the Imran Khan-led administration.

Earlier this year, the BRT project in Peshawar city faced criticism by the people after the stations got flooded and witnessed water leakages during heavy rains.

Several videos went viral on social media showing water leakages at the stations.

The BRT project has been constructed by a consortium led by China Railway 21st Bureau Group and it has witnessed several accidents since its inauguration on August 13.

The project, built at a cost of Rs 70 billion is a 27.5 kilometre-long corridor track with 31 stations and seven feeder routes stretching 62km with 146 stops to facilitate thousands of passengers every day. (ANI)

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