Pakistan Railways Advisory Committee Member Zia-ul-Haq Sarhadi has urged Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to take notice of financial bungling in Pakistan Railways Advisory and Consultancy Service (PRACS) as mentioned by the PR director general (audit), causing a loss of Rs 18 million to the Pakistan Railways.
In a press statement issued here on Saturday, Ziz Sarhadi said the PR director general (audit) has recently issued a report, published in press, mentioning financial embezzlement of PRACS, causing a loss of Rs 18 million to the Pakistan Railways.
Quoting the report, Zia Sarhadi said that PRACS didn't observe a clause of the contract agreement it had executed with the PR from 1998 to 2005, regarding running of city booking agencies, and has not deposited the earnings of booking agencies with the chief cashier and the treasure of the Pakistan Railways at Lahore and the same was collected by the National Bank.
The PR director general audit has asked the Railway Financial Adviser and the Chief Accounts Officer (Revenue) to forthwith recover Rs 18.902 million from PRACS without any loss of time, he added.
Zia Sarhadi, who is also the chairman, Standing Committee of the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) on Dryport, said the takingover of city booking agencies by PRACS was a wrong decision because the present government is following the policy of privatisation for improving the performance and earnings of national institution.
The city booking agencies, he said, were extending service to the people over a commission of four to five percent. While, the same service is now performed by PRACS over high commission, which is also a loss to the government.
Furthermore, he said, the functioning of Pakistan Railways employees in PRACS is also questionable because according to Supreme Court ruling a public servant cannot be deputed or transferred to a private organisation.
The PRACS, he said, nor a subsidiary or apublic limited company, according to the record of Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan.
These officers were drawing their salaries from Pakistan Railways, but working for PRACS which is clear-cut violation of service rules, he added.
Zia Sarhadi said the PR city booking agencies should be restored with immediate effect and officials who took the decision of taking their control should be made accountable.
He also rejected the proposed handing over control of dryports of the country to PRACS. The decision, if implemented, would have very negative impact on the imports and exports of the country, he observed.
Sarhadi demanded of the Prime Minister to order thorough inquiry into functioning of PRACS and stop this company from further looting.
Comments
Comments are closed.