ISLAMABAD: The Public Accounts Committee on Monday finally ordered an action against officials involved in corruption in a multi-billion-rupee drought relief project but the move came only after the key accused retired last month.
Chairman Public Accounts Committee Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan asked Secretary Planning Division Ashraf Hayat to immediately start legal proceedings against the officials who embezzled millions of rupees worth of foreign loan in the Drought Emergency Relief Assistance Project, initiated to help the victims of drought in southern Punjab.
“National project director (formerly Deputy Auditor General M Anwar Khan) was at serious fault and we will not let him go scot-free,” said Khan. He asked the secretary Planning Division to complete the action in three days.
The media has been reporting about the massive irregularities committed by Anwar Khan as the national project director of the drought relief project. The matter was discussed many a times at the PAC forum but the committee could not reach a conclusion and deferred the issue time and again.
However, when it was finally established that Anwar Khan had committed massive irregularities he had already reached the age of superannuation (retirement) on May 9.
“The investigation report on the project was received on May 10 and the officer retired on May 9,” said Additional Auditor General of Pakistan Ayub Tarin.
According to the report, the project director made Rs6 million payments on account of irregular appointments. He used official vehicles for 55,000 kms of irregular journey and on top of that, the vehicles were used on Sundays for 12,000 kms of personal journey. He also used drought relief money to furnish the office.
The PAC chairman also expressed his displeasure over a sub-committee report. On many occasions, the report tried to exonerate the project head by recommending taking approvals from the Establishment Division of the wrongdoings committed by Anwar Khan, who was an employee of the office of the Auditor General of Pakistan.
“There are approvals of the irregularities which indicate that the national project director committed massive wrongdoing,” said the chairman, adding instead of recommending approval of the wrongdoing the responsibility should have been fixed.
Rs1.8b loss caused by NLC
In another case of Rs1.84 billion loss to the exchequer caused by the management of the National Logistics Cell, the PAC decided to call a special meeting in August to discuss the matter in detail.
NLC Director General Major General Junaid told the committee that the NLC was paying Rs2.7 million per day on account of mark-up on loans illegally obtained to invest in the stock market.
The audit department had reported to PAC that the NLC had obtained Rs4.3 billion in loans from banks for investing in the stock market and suffered Rs1.84 billion losses. “The chief of army staff has ordered the NLC to wind up this illegal business,” said General Junaid.
An interdepartmental committee of the Finance, Planning and Audit Department has held three three-star generals and a senior civil official responsible for the losses but so far PAC has not taken any action against them.
Published in the Express Tribune, June 15th, 2010.
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