Helicopter purchase case: PAC Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for recovery of Rs 11.4 million

Public Accounts Committee, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, has asked the Department of Establishment for recovery of an amount of Rs 11.4 million in helicopter purchase case and recovery of rent from the provincial ministers residing in MPAs' Hostel.
These directives were issued in a meeting held on Tuesday with KP Speaker, Kiramatullah Khan in the chair. Those who attended were included Saqibullah Khan Chamkani, Fazal Shakoor Khan, Mukhtiar Ali Khan, Ziyad Akram Durrani and Mohammad Zamin Khan. The meeting discussed the different audit objections regarding Department of Establishment during financial year 2009-10 and took several important decisions. The committee appreciated the first meeting of Departmental Accounts Committee (DAC) held under the chairmanship of the chief secretary and termed it is a positive step for establishment of financial discipline in the province.
The committee concerned over the purchase of 99 precious items included air-conditioners, furniture, electric equipments for different rest houses and Frontier House, Kohat, during the financial year 2008-09. The matter handed over to Saqibullah Chamkani headed sub-committee of PAC for probe.
On the occasion, the committee was told that officers and employees involved in committing of irregularities in purchase of helicopter and precious items for rest houses have already been terminated from their duties. The committee in connections with different financial irregularities in department of establishment and administration directed the recovery of an amount of Rs 12.734 million from the involved officials and directed a departmental inquiry, about an illegal use of an official car and inflicting a loss of Rs 3,62,000 to government treasury and submission of report to public accounts committee.
The public accounts committee also concerned over the stealing of an official vehicle from Ring Road in May 2009 and directed the recovery of an amount of Rs 0.8 million from the concerned officer. Addressing the meeting Speaker, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, Kiramatullah Khan, who is also chairman PAC, said that due to the lack of internal audit, the financial irregularities are on rise in government departments.