Auction for 37 commercial plots: PAC irked by CDA irregularities amounting to Rs37bn

ISLAMABAD: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) – the top parliamentary watchdog of Parliament – was irked on Wednesday after irregularities worth Rs 37 billion involving Capital Development Authority (CDA) in the auction of 37 commercial plots were revealed.

The PAC meeting, which was held here with Junaid Akbar Khan in the chair, reviewed the audit paras of CDA for the fiscal year 2023-24, during which major irregularities, including the non-transparent auction of 29 commercial plots and the absence of financial statements, were revealed.

The audit officials disclosed that CDA’s board had approved the auction of these plots for over Rs37 billion, yet the process lacked transparency.

They said that the auction of five plots was postponed, and one faced legal complications, raising questions about why such issues were not considered before approval.

This angered the PAC chairman, who questioned why the civic body is not ensuring transparency as billions of rupees in irregularities show how transparently the institution is being run by the city managers.

The PAC members expressed strong dissatisfaction over CDA’s failure to prepare financial statements, questioning why the officials do not follow the rules.

The committee chairman questioned why the civic body had not submitted financial reports despite being legally obligated under the CDA Act to provide audited statements to the federal government.

At this, the audit officials said that under the law, the CDA is bound to submit its financial statement to the federal government, and any failure in this regard, would result in the imprisonment of the concerned officials.

A member of finance of the CDA admitted that the CDA never prepared financial statements in the past; however, it is preparing a financial statement for the year 2023-24.

The audit officials warned that violating the CDA ordinance could lead to legal consequences, including imprisonment, adding the CDA had never prepared financial statements in its history, despite laid down rules.

A member of the civic body’s finance acknowledged the lapse but assured that the financial statement for 2023-24 was currently being prepared.

The PAC members also criticised the conduct of CDA Chairman Muhammad Ali Randhawa, a senior bureaucrat who is also the chief commissioner of Islamabad and a close aide of the Sharif family.

Senator Bilal Mandokhail, a member of the PAC, reprimanded the top bureaucrat of the CDA for his dismissive attitude toward audit officials, questioning why he told them to “just read the report” instead of addressing their concerns properly.

After he was reprimanded by the PAC member, Randhawa instantly tendered an unconditional apology to the committee, admitting that his approach might have been inappropriate and assuring that he would be more mindful in the future.

The committee also scrutinised the auction process, highlighting that while the CDA Board approved the auction of 29 plots, only 22 were actually auctioned.

Audit officials stated that the failure to implement the board’s instructions made the process non-transparent. The PAC members condemned this mismanagement and insisted on greater accountability in the auction process.

In response to the ongoing financial and administrative concerns, the PAC issued a six-month deadline for the CDA to finalise and submit its financial statements.

The committee ordered that progress updates be shared monthly to ensure compliance.

The Interior secretary apologised to the PAC for the CDA’s failure to prepare financial reports, while the committee remained firm in its demand for transparency and proper financial management in the authority’s operations.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025