Massive misuse cited: PAC orders recovery of unauthorised vehicles from government officials

Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chairman Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Wednesday directed the secretaries of different government departments to immediately recover all unauthorised vehicles from government officials including those used by former GMs and ex-members of the Ministry of Communication.
During PAC session here, Chaudhry Nisar showed serious concern over massive misuse of government vehicles by different government departments. If the concerned government departments failed to recover the vehicles used by unauthorised persons within three days, the recovery would be made from the concerned Principal Accounting Officers.
He cautioned that the PAC would ask the Ministry of Finance to withhold the budgetary grants of the concerned ministry, which failed to recover unauthorised vehicles. Chaudhry Nisar pointed out that there is ban on the use of luxury vehicles by government officials, but the rules have been grossly violated in this regard. The PAC would inform the Prime Minister about the massive misuse of government vehicles by different government departments. The ban on the use of luxury vehicles by government officials should be strictly enforced, he added.
He said that ministers, secretaries and other government officials have been authorised to use only one vehicle. They are not allowed to use 2 or more government vehicles at a time. Except Prime Minister, Speaker, Chairman Senate/Assembly and other authorised persons, no one is allowed to use two government vehicles. It has been observed that the government officials massively misuse the allowed perks and privileges including government vehicles.
The PAC would submit the data of vehicles to the AG office and PAOs would be held responsible in case of any kind of misstatements being made by the government departments. The committee expressed displeasure over the delay in providing details by various ministries and also directed these ministries to submit report within a month.
The audit officials, earlier, informed the committee that all ministries were asked to submit details of the vehicles used by these ministries and their concerned departments, but only 24 ministries provided the details despite repeated requites, as autonomous and mini autonomous institutions did not provide the details. An official of the audit suggested that the PAC should ban use of vehicles of over 1000cc by the government officials. Earlier, different government departments presented position of the vehicles used by them.