‘344 acres of PSM land’ encroached

PAC panel urged not to fix timeframe for recovery of land

ISLAMABAD:

The industry and production department urged the subcommittee of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) not to fix any deadline for the recovery of encroached 344 acres of land of the Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM).

A meeting of the subcommittee was held with its convener Wajiha Qamar in the chair. Audit officials informed the meeting that the encroachment on the Steel Mills land began in 2007. The chair asked the officials why the audit para was made after 10 years. The officials replied that the industries ministry was unaware of the matter.

The committee was informed that 20 acres of land was encroached upon last year. Committee member Salim Mandviwala said that if this was allowed to continue, the entire land of the Steel Mills would be occupied.

The industry secretary asked the subcommittee that no timeframe should be given on this matter. He added that he would speak with the chief secretary of Sindh on this matter. The committee directed him to ensure the safety of the remaining Steel Mills land.

The subcommittee also took up the audit para related to the appointment of the Chief Executive of the National Productivity Organization. The committee was informed that the appointment of the CEO was not approved by the prime minister.

The officials said that appointment in MP-1 scale was made for two years but in this case, the officer was still working even after three years. They opposed the regularisation of the service of the CEO. The subcommittee stressed that the establishment division should have looked into the matter. It directed that a committee should be formed to hold inquiry to find out who made this appointment.