CHAKWAL, May 22: Violation of rules, unavailability of record and professional inefficiency were the key factors behind Rs201.942 million irregularities unearthed in the accounts of the district government, reveals the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) report for 2001-02. The AGP report, which was the first one after devolution of power, said the district government remained unsuccessful in implementing the budgetary and accounting mechanism laid down in the Punjab Local Government Ordinance 2001.
It said the district government had received funds worth Rs1,475.555 million during the fiscal year 2001-02 against which an expenditure of Rs1,037.674 was incurred, showing a saving of Rs437.90 million.
NON-RECOVERY: The report said an amount of Rs1 million per annum was found outstanding against the chambers of 53 lawyers and occupants of shops constructed on government land in the Kutchery compound falling under the jurisdiction of District Coordination Officer. The rent was neither assessed nor recovered from the occupants.
Scrutiny of the accounts of district officer roads revealed that an amount of Rs3.651 million was recoverable from 27 officials on account of miscellaneous PWD advances for more than 10 years.
District building division disbursed the mobilization advance of Rs3.217 million to the contractors for upgradation of District Headquarters (DHQ) hospital, Chakwal.
The contracts were cancelled twice on account of delay in execution of the project. But neither the amount paid in advance was recovered nor the guarantee encashed since the insurance company was fake.
The district officer building could not recover an amount of Rs642,000 from the contractor for plinth protection beam that had not been provided in the original estimate.
The officials residing at the highway division colony did not pay Sui gas bills of Rs128,312.
The building division made an overpayment of Rs110,000 in violation of technically sanctioned excavation of the building. A similar overpayment of Rs80,516 was made which could not be recovered from the contractor.
NEGLIGENCE: As many as nine departments falling under the DCO could not utilize funds worth Rs25.553 million. The departments, which include health, livestock, soil conservation, agriculture extension, cooperative societies and district headquarters hospital, neither utilized nor surrendered the funds.
Similarly, an unspent amount of Rs541.214 was not refunded by the DCO.
The district officer roads did not deposit Rs2.790 million security deposits to the government accounts. The amount, which had been lying in the accounts of roads division, deprived the government of revenue and the interest on the huge amount.
VIOLATION OF RULES: The DCO Chakwal made an unauthorized payment of Rs698,200 to the persons on polling duty in 2002.
The revenue office auctioned the confiscated items without the approval of a competent authority and at uneconomical price of Rs461,900, besides an expenditure of Rs64,955 and Rs58,990 was incurred on stationery and repair of vehicles, respectively.
NON-PRODUCTION OF RECORD: On account of referendum 2002, the DCO failed to produce the relevant record regarding expenditure of Rs60,000 for audit.
For the year 2001-02, funds worth Rs10 million were placed at the disposal of district education officer colleges for the repair of four college buildings of the district. The funds, however, were given to the principal government college Chakwal without his demand.
In the meantime, DEO colleges drew an unauthorized amount of Rs750,000 for the renovation of his office. However, the record of each unauthorized utilization could not be produced.
Similarly, EDO agriculture (Extension) could not justify the expenditure of Rs732,192 claimed for repair work.
KHUSHAL PAKISTAN PROGRAMME: Irregularities adding upto Rs149.024 on account of non-recovery, violation of rules, overpayment and unavailability of record were detected in the Khushal Pakistan Programme (KPP). Nevertheless, the programme successfully achieved its objectives of poverty alleviation and completion of farm-to-market roads.
However, many schemes executed were beyond the guidelines of the KPP, the report said. The report observed that district nazim did not appoint an internal auditor, and the expenditures could not be monitored since the key officers were found unaware of their role in the internal control system.
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