ISLAMABAD: The Senate Functional Committee on Problems of Less Developed Areas has recommended initiating criminal proceedings against senior officials of Federal Government Employees Housing Authority (FGEHA)’s over Rs1.3 billion irregularities in Housing Scheme of FGEHA.
The committee meeting held here on Monday under the chairmanship of Senator Agha Shahzaib Durrani, witnessed a threadbare discussion on the inquiry conducted by the Cabinet Division concerning the FGEHA housing project, wherein, Rs1.3 billion had been disbursed despite no work being completed at the site.
The chairman committee and other members after the findings of the inquiry report asked the government to register criminal case against the Director of Finance, Project Director, and other relevant staff involved in the crime.
During a detailed investigation, committee members learned that a contractor had submitted a fake bank guarantee to secure project funds, while the Finance Director had released payments without verifying their authenticity. Further allegations suggested the Finance Director later attempted to blackmail the contractor by threatening to blacklist the guarantee.
Despite being transferred, the Finance Director’s name was conspicuously absent from the ministry’s internal inquiry, raising additional concerns about accountability. Senators Hamid Khan and Dinesh Kumar criticised FGEHA for financial mismanagement and years of delays, highlighting that lawyers who invested in the scheme had yet to receive their promised plots.
The FGEHA has appointed the National Engineering Services Pakistan (Nespak) consultant in the Park Road Housing Scheme. Surprisingly, officials could not provide any reply to the query and admitted that criminal practices were involved on behalf of the Director of Finance and Project Director.
The Cabinet Division, in its report, found the “3Cs” guilty—Client, Contractor, and Consultant—and termed it a case of “Collusion”. 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 levelled 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 could not provide any reply to the query. He asked if the FGEHA did not 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.
The committee also witnessed a blame game between FGEHA and NESPAK about the documents and responsibility shifting between the two. To fix the responsibility, the committee directed FGEHA and NESPAK to submit all communications held between the two, along with a copy of the contract and other relevant information concerning the project, to be submitted before the committee within seven days.
The committee expressed displeasure over the absence of the secretary and additional secretary of IT and other concerned officials. The committee cautioned that the matter would be referred to the Privilege Committee in case of absence for the third time.
The committee also deferred the briefing of the Evacuee Trust Property Board due to the absence of the secretary in charge and directed the officials to ensure the presence of senior officials at the next meeting.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025