The government of Sindh could not get possession of valuable land in Karachi as a result of non-cooperative attitude of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) despite directions from Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in this regard over the past 6 years. Officials of the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) while briefing a subcommittee of the PAC, which met here under the chairpersonship of Shahida Akhtar Ali, informed the panel that as a result of not handing over the land to Sindh Building Control Authority by CAA, Rs 5.48 billion financial losses incurred to Sindh.
The meeting was informed that over the past 6 years, the PAC and subcommittees of the PAC time and again directed the CAA to hand over the land to Sindh government but the authority didn't vacate land. The panel also expressed serious anger over the absence of the senior officials of the Sindh Building Control Authority and directed the secretary PAC to write a letter to the Sindh government in this connection.
Audit officials suggested the panel to refer the matter to National Accountability Bureau (NAB) or Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for an inquiry why the CAA didn't transfer the land to Sindh government, but the committee rejected the proposal and directed the concerned officials to implement PAC directives. The APG officials said that the boundary of the land was set many times.
Responding to the audit objections, the officials of the CAA said that during the process of boundary setting, the concerned department told the CAA that the land under discussion was not the property of the authority. The CAA officials further said that the two pieces of land situated in district Malir were handed over to the Sindh government.
The AGP officials objected to the response of the CAA and said that in 2013 the authority said that it was going to probe into the subject. After that it was also decided a detailed report of the matter will be issued but as yet nothing has happened.
The CAA officials told the panel that the authority is ready to share all the details and record with AGP officials on the matter under discussion.
The AGP officials said if the CAA had taken this decision in 2013, Rs 5.48 billion financial losses incurred to national kitty could have been averted. The panel directed CAA and AGP to hold a meeting on the matter and come up with a viable solution.
The committee also directed Civil Aviation Authority to provide all relevant record to audit officials.
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