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Summary PAC has shown grave concerns over refusal of audit accounts by Auditor General of Pakistan.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Thursday, summoned all government, semi-government organizations and departments using public money to next meeting.PAC also asked Auditor General of Pakistan to resolve the issue of devolved ministries with special reference to ownership of audit paras by specifying their relevance to concerned ministries.The committee also showed displeasure over non approval of development schemes submitted by members of the Parliament by the Cabinet Division as well as even not issuing letter in this concern.Public Accounts Committee met here with Nadeem Afzal Gondal in the chair here to discuss audit observations about ministries of Kashmir and Northern Areas Affairs, National Assembly and Cabinet Division, but officials of Cabinet Division alone appeared before the committee while two others excused on some reasons.Ahmad Farooq, Additional Secretary Cabinet Division, due course of discussion on audit observations, informed the committee that all development schemes submitted by MPs were processed within 24 to 36 hours at Cabinet Division. “While Delay in release of funds for the development schemes was due to non submission of schemes by MPs, even MNAs members of PAC have also not submitted their schemes so far” he observed, adding that revalidation of process of lapsing development funds and grants had not started yet.He said that a meeting chaired by Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, Deputy Prime Minister, last week made decisions in this connections, however, Riaz Hussain Pirzada questioned the legal status of those decisions, saying that Deputy Prime Minister’s office was not according to law so bureaucracy should act in accordance with law.While responding to an observation about supplementary grants, Ahmad Farooq said that record of various documents was not available due to fire at Shaheed-e-Millat Secretariat.Auditors pointed out that devolved Ministry of Local Government & Rural Development released Rs 8.485 billions under Tameer-i-Pakistan Programme to various departments without obtaining audited statements during 2002-2005. PAC directed Ministry to get all the record verified and settle the issue within 15 days.PAC was told that record pertaining to non recovery of unauthorized expenditures of Rs 0.124 millions due to use of government vehicles had burnt in blaze at Shaheed-i-Millat Secretariat. Committee directed the ministry to reconcile available data and documents with Auditors in 15 days.Auditors while discussion on audit observations about National Rural Support Programme (NRSP), pointed out several government and semi-government departments running on the expense of public money had refused getting their accounts audited by AGP.PAC summoned all those departments to next meeting to explain and justify their stand before the committee.
