LAHORE, Jan 17: Undeterred by the nazims’ reaction, the Punjab Local Government Commission on Saturday decided to send notices to another 17 district administrations in the south to seek explanation of financial objections mainly raised in the recently held special audit.

This time it also decided to seek answers to its queries directly from the officials facing audit objections.

The commission had earlier sent such notices to 18 districts in the central and northern Punjab, asking nazims to collect answers to the alleged financial irregularities from the officials concerned, and send them to it within a specified period.

Most nazims have interestingly replied that they have sent notices to the officials concerned. And the replies will be forwarded to the commission as soon as they are received (from the officials).

The commission decided to send individual notices at its meeting held on Saturday and presided over by its member Naveed Chaudhry in place of Local Government Minister Sirdar Dost Khosa busy in attending his ailing father Sirdar Zulfikar Khosa.

It also decided to send explanatory notices to all EDOs of seven districts whose nazims had already been sent notices. These districts included Lahore, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Chakwal, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad and Okara.

The districts where fresh notices would soon be sent are Okara, Sahiwal, Pakpattan, Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur, Vehari, Rahim Yar Khan, Multan, Khanewal, Lodhran, Muzaffargarh, Dera Ghazi Khan, Rajanpur, Layyah, Bhakkar, Mianwali and Khushab.

Mr Chaudhry said the notices would be sent to the nazims, naib nazims, DCOs and EDOs concerned under Section 132 of the Local Government Ordinance 2001.

An inquiry would be held in accordance with the replies or statements of those facing audit objections or the documentary evidence they would submit to explain their position, he said.