The subcommittee of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) met here under the chairmanship of Noor Alam Khan and expressed serious anger over the additional director (AD) over his failure to satisfy the panel on inquiry into the matter. The panel said if FIA is not able to conduct a transparent probe into the matter, the committee will direct National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to investigate the mega financial scam.
The panel also directed Establishment Division to appoint a permanent director general of Civil Aviation Authority within one month and share the report with the PAC.
The committee was informed by the officials of the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) that as per PC-1 of the project, estimated cost was Rs 37 billion which kept on escalating due to delays and the project was completed at a cost of Rs 105 billion. The committee directed the Secretary Aviation Division, Shahrukh Nusrat to fix responsibility against those responsible for such a huge financial loss to national kitty, saying due to such corrupt practices Pakistan is lagging behind other countries. The project should have been completed within three years after approval of PC-1 but it took more than 10 years, the convener committee said.
Secretary Aviation Division, Shahrukh Nusrat told the panel that 15 officers were involved in the scam and entire inquiry has been completed with recommendation of actions against them. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) officials as usual didn't reveal the names of the officials who caused Rs 72 billion financial losses to national kitty by delaying the completion of Islamabad International Airport.
The AGP officials said that construction of the airport was delayed almost for 10 years and as a result the cost of the project reached Rs 105 billion from original Rs 37 billion. The AGP officials said that the first Project Concept-I (PC-1) for the project was drafted in March 2008, when the cost of the project was estimated at Rs 37 billion. The PC-I underwent a review in 2014 when the project cost was revised to Rs 81 billion. It underwent a second review in March 2018, when its cost was revised to Rs 105 billion. The project took eight years to complete and it cost Rs 68 billion more than the original estimate.
The AGP officials added that based on their audit of the discrepancies in the project, four cases were sent to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) while the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) conducted a comprehensive inquiry into the matter. Moreover, the inquiry named every person who was involved in the irregularities.
The CAA officials were again and again questioned by the PAC members to reveal the names of the people responsible for massive financial losses to national kitty but they kept on diverting the discussion on drafted briefing. The panel further directed the quarters concerned to send back all the officials working on deputation to their parent departments.
Noor Alam Khan said that public servants are involved in massive corruption cases but no serious action is being taken against the corrupt officials while politicians are being sent to jails on even corruption charges. He added that across the board accountability is needed to put Pakistan on the right track.