KP PAC orders probe into financial irregularities

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has expressed anguish over severe financial irregularities and lack of financial discipline in the Local Government & Rural Development Department and constituted a committee under the chairmanship of MPA Shaukat Ali Yousafzai for conducting comprehensive investigation into the matter. Other members are included Syed Jaffar Shah and Mufti Said Janan.
The meeting of the committee held here Tuesday with Chairman, Speaker, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, and Asad Qaiser in the Conference Room of the Assembly Secretariat. MPAs Mufti Said Janan, Syed Jaffar Shah, Shaukat Ali Yousafzai, Arbab Akbar Hayat and Idrees Khan also attended the meeting.
The meeting discussed in details the audit paras regarding the Department of Local Government, Elections and Rural Development in detail and took several important decisions. The committee besides, expressing severe anguish over different irregularities in the department issued directives for the recovery of an amount of Rs 1 million from the responsible persons and registration of cases against them with immediate effect.
The committee referred matter of the non-depositing of unutilised amount of Rs 4.8 million in provincial exchequer to sub-committee of the PAC. The meeting also took notice of the non-presentation of the record of the expenditure of Rs 7.7 million during financial year 200809 before the audit authorities and for investigation directed the presentation of record concerned before the audit authorities.
The committee also took notice of irregularities of Rs 4.6 million in different health and sanitation sector projects by the administration of Town-1 Peshawar during financial year 2008-09 and for detailed investigation into the matter referred it to the committee.
Speaking on the occasion, Chairman PAC, Speaker, Asad Qaiser clarified that as the budget is approved by the provincial assembly, therefore, it is also mandated to question the utilisation of the public exchequer. He said that the protection of the national exchequer is the responsibility of the PAC.