The Punjab Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee-I (PAC-I) has decided to refer alleged financial irregularities exceeding Rs. 1.1 billion in the Higher Education Department to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for investigation.
The decision was taken during a meeting chaired by PAC-I Chairman Iftikhar Hussain Chachhar, where members reviewed audit observations related to the higher and school education departments.
According to the committee, the audit identified several irregularities, including the non-deduction of income tax on installment payments, unauthorized expansion of project scopes, issuance of a Rs. 400 million work guarantee before project completion, and the approval of a project under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.
PAC-I members expressed concern over the department’s failure to implement recommendations issued by the Special Departmental Accounts Committee (SDAC) and said the matter should have been referred for investigation earlier.
The committee directed that four audit paragraphs involving more than Rs. 1 billion be sent to NAB for a detailed probe and instructed the bureau to submit its findings within three months. The committee said the move was aimed at ensuring transparency, accountability and the protection of public funds.
