KARACHI: The National Highway Authority (NHA) sought details about the motorway funds from Sindh government, allegedly misappropriated in a mega scam, on Wednesday.

The NHA asked about the extent of funds released for land procurement for the motorway project, allegedly misappropriated in the scandal.

A fact-finding committee of the NHA also visited Matiari and Naushehro Feroz districts. The committee members held meetings with the real owners of the land and sought details of the matter from them, sources said.

The highway authority has also demanded of the provincial government to hand over the matter to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for inquiry into the scam.

“It is a matter of banking transactions, the NAB should be entrusted for return of the amount,” NHA officials were quoted as saying. The chief secretary has sought permission from the chief minister of Sindh over the matter.

Earlier, the Sindh government wrote to the federal government seeking suspension of deputy commissioner Naushehro Feroz over his role in the M-6 graft scandal.

It has been disclosed that deputy commissioner Tashfeen Alam has also been involved in the scandal, according to sources. The DC has been in hiding for last four days, sources said.

The amount was released by the government to deputy commissioners for procurement of land for the motorway, but was misappropriated.

The Sindh government has also constituted a team for arrest of Tashfeen Alam.

According to documents, the National Highway Authority (NHA) had released an amount of Rs 4.09 billion to DC Matiari for purchase of the land for the motorway. The accused drawn Rs 1.82 billion cash from bank for procurement of land for 70 kilometers of the road, according to documents.

An amount of Rs 4 billion was transferred to another account by the accused and earned 540 million rupees profit. AC New Saeedabad paid cash to the landowners instead of cheques, according to case papers.