Five officials of NADRA subsidiary face inquiry

PAC orders CDA to cancel land leases over terms violation

ISLAMABAD:

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the parliament has reaffirmed its commitment to upholding the constitution and the rule of law and ordered initiating an inquiry against five board members of NADRA Technologies Limited (NTL), a subsidiary of the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA).

In a recent meeting chaired by Chairman Noor Alam Khan, several key decisions were made to address various issues and ensure accountability.

One notable decision was to initiate an inquiry against five board members of NTL. The finance secretary has been directed to write to the prime minister, requesting a thorough investigation into their actions. Until the inquiry is completed, the board members will be suspended from their positions.

During the meeting, the utilisation of leased land in Islamabad for purposes other than what was agreed upon and the concerns related to housing societies were also discussed.

The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has been instructed to issue notices to plot owners who have deviated from the designated land use and to cancel their leases. If any leased plots have been constructed and rented out for purposes other than specified, the rental income must be deposited into the national treasury.

CDA officials reported that a shopping mall had been constructed on land intended for a hotel in the federal capital sector. To investigate such cases, the Islamabad Police and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) were directed to conduct an inquiry and submit a report within a week on plots leased by the CDA.
Regarding the audit of NTL, the PAC requested detailed information on the educational qualifications, assets, travel records, and qualifications of the NTL board members. It was revealed during the meeting that NADRA and NTL operate independently from the Ministry of Home Affairs, which raised concerns about the lack of cooperation between the entities.

The PAC expressed disappointment that NADRA did not share information with the Ministry of Home Affairs and emphasised the need for transparency.
The FIA officials confirmed that an inquiry against NADRA was underway.

The PAC chairman directed the home secretary to request all records related to NTL from the concerned officers and provide them by June 20. Additionally, the chairman instructed that the officers under investigation should be suspended, pending further action.

However, both the interior secretary and the home secretary explained that they were not authorized to suspend the officers without the permission of the federal government. The PAC chairman directed the interior secretary to write to the federal government to seek permission for the suspension.

The meeting also highlighted the limited audit of NTL until 2019, revealing that NTL officers receive substantial monthly salaries. Chairman Khan stressed the importance of disclosing the educational qualifications and qualifications of NTL board members.

Furthermore, the PAC instructed the home secretary to conduct a comprehensive inquiry into various matters, including NTL's assets, travel records, honors, and TADA.

However, the home secretary expressed difficulty in conducting the inquiry as NTL had not provided the required records despite their efforts over the past three and a half months.

Chairman Khan firmly reiterated the need to suspend all five officers of NTL, but both the interior secretary and the home secretary maintained that they lacked the authority to do so without the approval of the federal government. They emphasised that the federal government could suspend the officers and appoint an inquiry officer.

In addition, the PAC directed the registrar of cooperatives to remove the names of private housing societies that are using the names of government institutions. The registrar informed the committee that notices had been issued to eighteen housing societies involved in this practice.

Chairman Khan emphasised the previous directive to stop housing societies from using the names of government institutions and to abolish the names of private housing societies altogether.

The PAC also instructed the registrar of cooperatives to prevent housing societies from collecting additional charges from consumers.