The Senate Standing Committee on Water Resources on Thursday grilled the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) for buying 78 luxury vehicles worth Rs. 740 million, despite a federal austerity policy prohibiting such acquisitions.
The committee under the chairmanship of Senator Shahadat Awan also expressed concern over the delay in inquiries into several financial irregularities, some dating back four decades.
The committee chairman said 187 audit paras related to WAPDA remained unresolved while some cases didn’t have official records. He also raised concerns about a Rs. 29 billion discrepancy that hadn’t even been probed by the Ministry of Water Resources.
The committee was briefed that of 56 inquiries recommended by the Public Accounts Committee, 43 had been completed, 10 were ongoing, and 3 were being probed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
381 inquiries were initiated by the Departmental Accounts Committee of which 308 were completed and 67 were pending. The panel directed the ministry to expedite all pending inquiries within six months and provide details of cases before the courts, as well as individuals found responsible for breaking the law.
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What is the purpose of Senate Standing Committees? Is there any logic or it is just formalities? When any Authority cannot control the lavish lives of Bureaucrats or Ministers and when they cannot mend the ways of these meanest class who are doing nothing for the cause of Pakistan but plunder precious resources of the country, the it should be either banned or made accountable to General public representatives – not MNAs / MPAs, I mean actual public.
Pay more tax so that fbr also buy 1000 honda city cars!