Battling corruption: ‘NAB retrieved 4,316 plots in different property scams’

Seminar highlights the menace of corruption and its effects on society

MULTAN: Multan National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Director General Atiqur Rehman has said the bureau retrieved 4,316 plots in different property scams and handed over the possession to the real owners during its two-and-half year period in the region.

The NAB director general expressed these views while speaking at a seminar held in connection with the International Anti-Corruption Day on Saturday. He said NAB recovered Rs1.22 billion in one scam, which affected nearly 200,000 people. Similarly, Rs370 million was recovered from a government official in another scam.

“NAB is striving hard to eliminate menace of corruption from society. The conviction rate of Multan's NAB cases remained 76% which is proof of its good performance,” he said.

“About Rs2.262 billion were recovered from different scams and returned to victims or deposited into the national exchequer,” the NAB DG said.

“Multan NAB also recovered 3,000 plots in a scam of a housing society and gave possession of the land to the real owners, Atiqur Rehman maintained.

At its inception in 2015, Multan NAB office took action on 188 cases. About complaints, the NAB DG said that the bureau responded to 5,800 complaints during the period.

He said NAB has also constituted different committees including Public Procurement Authority to review process of purchase in government departments.

“We are also studying matters pertaining to illegal occupation of state land and irrigation canals.” NAB introduced 7,000 character building societies in Multan, Bahawalpur and Dera Ghazi Khan divisions where it enjoys 40,000 membership. The NAB DG voiced hope that these character building societies would surely play important role in abolishing the menace of corruption. He urged citizens to resist against corruption. “Cooperation of the masses is of vital importance for elimination of the menace,” he said.

Speaking on occasion NAB Director Abdul Hafeez Khan said discretionary powers in departments were also causing corruption. “There is more corruption, where the heads of departments enjoy more discretionary powers,” he said.

“NAB is also working to ensure merit policy in different government departments. We will give recommendations for minimising discretionary powers as NAB is studying different departments in this regard.”

On this occasion, students, civil society workers and officials from different departments also joined walk which started from Tea House and ended at Multan Arts Council. The participants were carrying banners and placards inscribed with slogans and awareness raising messages against corruption.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 10^th, 2017.