Senate body seeks criminal action in FGEHA scandal

The Senate Functional Committee on Problems of Less Developed Areas on Monday witnessed a threadbare discussion on the inquiry conducted by the Cabinet Division concerning the Federal Government Employees Housing Authority's (FGEHA) housing project.

The session was chaired by Agha Shahzaib Durrani.

The Cabinet Division, in its report, found the '3Cs' guilty—Client, Contractor, and Consultant—and termed it a case of 'Collusion,' said a statement.

The Cabinet Division also laid grey allegations on NESPAK and stated that Rs1.3 billion for unsuitable material was approved by the consultant, when, in fact, no such work was done at the site. However, NESPAK officials claimed that the land available for the project was less than the land assigned for the project. NESPAK sought time to submit a reply to the allegations leveled by the FGEHA.

Senator Agha Shahzaib Durrani raised eyebrows on the 'fake bank guarantee' and asked whether the FGEHA verified the bank guarantee from the bank branch and head office. However, the FGEHA couldn't provide any reply to the query. He further asked, if the FGEHA didn't verify the bank guarantee from the Head office, then how come half of the payment was made on the same day the Bank Guarantee was submitted.

Surprisingly, officials couldn't provide any reply to the query and admitted that criminal practices were involved on behalf of finance director and project director. After detailed deliberations, the committee recommended initiating criminal proceedings against the finance director, project director, and other relevant staff involved in such a crime.