Rs 14.4 billion fraud in Railways, 13.5 billion in Zakat fund: AGP report

[Naveed Yaseen]

* Railways unable to retrieve land worth Rs 5,110m from CDA
* WAPDA has erected pylons on 87,288 square feet in Larkana

By Irfan Bukhari

ISLAMABAD: The Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) has pointed out irregularities worth Rs.14.418 billion in the account of Pakistan Railways (PR) during the financial year 2008-09.

The AGP pointed out these irregularities in an audit report for the financial year 2007-08. The report revealed that the total expenditure of PR during 2007-08 was Rs 43.687 billion against earnings Rs 19.972 billion.

A recoverable sum of Rs 3.482 billion was also pointed out in the report. The report further revealed that recoveries of Rs 702,705 million were made during 2008-09.

The report said the non-recovery of rental charges worth Rs 2.189 billion were outstanding on account of railway land being leased out.

Retrieve: The report said further, “The Pakistan Railways cannot retrieve a piece of land worth Rs 5,110 million from the Capital Development Authority (CDA).”

Occupy: The report said that the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) has occupied 87,288 square feet the railway land in Larkana by erecting electric poles. The rental charges, amounting to Rs 78.559 million, have yet to be recovered.

“The NWFP government has acquired a piece of land in Bannu for establishing a university, but the Pakistan Railways has not retrieved the released material, resulting in a Rs 2.800 million loss,” the report revealed.

The audit report exposes that the PR sustained a loss of Rs 155.324 million due to excessive consumption of fuel by its locomotives.

“Labour of signal shops Lahore cannot be utilised due to shortage of material rendering expenditure of Rs 109.500 million incurred on their wages as wasteful,” the report points out.

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Audit finds Rs 13.475 billion irregularities in zakat fund

ISLAMABAD: The Auditor General of Pakistan has pointed out irregularities worth billions of rupees in the accounts of Central Zakat Fund (CZF) and public health institutions during the financial year 2007-08. In his report for the audit year 2008-09, the AG observed that the figures reported to the State Bank of Pakistan by the CZF differed by Rs 13.475 billion from the actual amount spent by the fund. The report said the CZF had also failed to produce the record of expenditure worth Rs 11.31 million and had transferred zakat funds worth Rs 23.5 million from accounts of the Health Welfare Committee (HWC) to the accounts of the Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital in Rawalpindi without authorisation. The AG said the HWC had purchased medicines worth Rs 56 million without transparent bidding and had issued medicines worth Rs 313,938 on “doubtful prescriptions”. tahir niaz