Audit report: Rs20b irregularities detected by AGP

CDA granted illegal approvals for layout plans of housing schemes

ISLAMABAD: The Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) has identified financial irregularities, losses and misappropriations of over Rs20 billion in the Capital Development Authority (CDA).

The CDA’s 2014-15 audit report, a copy of which is available with The Express Tribune, carries 64 audit objections for the civic agency revealing gross financial irregularities in the form of illegal approvals of layout plans for housing schemes on the basis of fake or fictitious documents, bogus land compensation, fake payments on account of land compensation on forged claims.

It also points out losses the CDA suffered from auctioning a prime hotel plot at sub-market rates, irregular or unauthentic acceptance of bids offered by firms, and failure to fulfill pre-qualification criteria.



Some of the prominent audit objections the AGP raised included the Rs8.2 billion loss the CDA suffered due to illegal approval of layout plans for a housing scheme on the basis of fictitious documents.

The audit report further noted that layout for the 2,453.43 kanals Paradise City Housing Scheme in Sector F-16 and F-17 in Zone-2 was approved by the CDA on December 22, 2006.

The scheme’s sponsor was subsequently required to fulfill all legal formalities, including mortgage, deed of saleable plots, transfer deed, open area of land and engineering design by March 21, 2007. When the sponsor failed to submit the documents in time, layout plan was withdrawn and a public notice was published on March 15, 2008.

While the developer had failed to prove the ownership of around 2,399 kanals of land in the scheme eight years after the plan had been issued, the agency approved the plan of scheme based on false documents of land ownership.

In another case, layout plans of a private housing scheme by RP Corporation (PVT) Ltd was approved on land measuring 1,619 kanals for 931 residential plots and a no-objection certificate (NOC) was issued on March 11, 2006 with completion period set at 60 months.

However, the scheme’s developer failed to start work on time. The case was referred to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for inquiry in March 2007. NAB said they could only verify ownership and possession of land measuring 764 Kanals, while documents for around 480 kanals of land were found to be forged.

An analysis of Fard Jamabandi Society and other revenue documents showed that the society owned or possessed only 861 kanals of scattered land. The audit observed that the developers had failed to purchase the required land to accommodate all members of the scheme. The developer, however, had managed to secure the required approvals and ultimately sold 931 for Rs2.956 billion, including mortgage land reserved for basic amenities, but the scheme was not developed even after a lapse  of nine years.

AGP also, found irregularities  and non-compliance in auction of plots to five star hotels and shopping malls.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 5^th, 2016.