NAB receives 50 complaints in public hearing

HYDERABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) conducted the public hearing here on Friday, receiving up to 50 complaints against various government departments.

The hearing, conducted by Director General NAB Karachi Mohammad Altaf Bawany, lasted for around 3 hours at the Circuit House.

The DG along with his team listened to the complaints which were submitted one by one in person by the complainants from Hyderabad, Jamshoro and adjoining districts. The complainants charged the government department with malpractices and corruption.

The NAB's spokesman Ahmed Raza Chaudhry informed that Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (HESCO) and the real estate developers topped the list of complaints.

According to him, the other complaints were registered against illegal constructions in the projects of cooperative housing societies, local government entities, illegal change of courses of water by the Irrigation Department and illegal appointments in some government departments.

Chaudhry said the complaints against HESCO concerned inflated billing and illegal award of advertisements. He told that the HESCO authorities were also made part of the public hearing exercise so that some of the complaints could be immediately addressed.

He said that the NAB was informed that some builders were not handing over the booked properties.

He apprised that the DG NAB issued orders for immediate cognizance of complaints that fall within jurisdiction of National Accountability Ordinance 1999.

Some other complaints against the administration were also marked to local authorities for redress and disposal under intimation to NAB, he added.

Speaking on the occasion, the DG said NAB took cognizance of cases without discrimination and currently among all NAB's Regional Bureaus, NAB Karachi was investigating the largest number of cases.

He said the media had always been equally a vibrant partner in NAB’s drive against corruption and was encouraged to expose corruption through investigative journalism.

Bawany said under the leadership of Chairman NAB Justice (r) Javed Iqbal, NAB was striving to eliminate the menace of corruption from the country.

He told that NAB would be going from district to district to collect complaints against the corrupt elements.

The DG also briefed about the actions taken on complaints received in previous public hearing.

He said the general public was being encouraged to approach the NAB to register complaints.

The spokesman said the people who could not register their grievance during the hearing could contact the NAB via email on [email protected], landline number 021-111-622-622, fax number 02199207949, through post at PRCS Building Cantt Karachi or personally.