ISLAMABAD: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Wednesday barred the government from releasing budget after May 15 of every fiscal year after shocking disclosures that the ministries – with the consent of the finance secretary – were illegally transferring budget to non-lapsable accounts through bogus paperwork, according to a report by a private media outlet.
The illegal activity of transferring taxpayers’ money from a lapsable account to a non-lapsable account through bogus paperwork has been going on for the last many years.
The Deputy Financial Adviser of the Finance Ministry confessed before the PAC that the federal finance secretary was in the knowledge of this illegal activity and the funds were transferred with his consent in fiscal year 2015-16.
To fund the schemes in the constituency of Capitan (retd) Muhammad Safdar – the son-in-law of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif – the housing ministry transferred the funds to non-lapsable accounts during FY 2015-16.
However, Rs132 million against four schemes in Captain Safdar’s constituency could not be transferred and were lapsed.
According to the Financial Rules, the budget approved by parliament goes to the Personal Ledger Account–I (PLA-I) of the respective ministries and departments. The surplus money that is deposited in PLA-I has to be returned to the treasury before the close of the fiscal year.
There is another account, PLA-IV, which is only meant for keeping the money of gratuity and pension. The money that is in the PLA-IV can be retained even after the close of the fiscal year, which ends on June 30 every year.
“The finance ministry should not release the funds after May 15 of every fiscal year, and if it does release the funds, then this will be the personal responsibility of the finance secretary,” directed PAC chairman Syed Khursheed Shah.
The PAC also summoned the incumbent finance secretary in the next meeting for an explanation. The deputy financial adviser disclosed before the PAC that the finance secretary personally cleared the files to transfer the funds from lapsable to non-lapsable accounts.
The activity of funding politicians’ schemes ahead of the next general elections was in full swing and the rules were again flouted to release the funds, said sources in the planning ministry.
PAC member Ashiq Gopang disclosed that the Housing and Works Ministry has rewarded such officials instead of taking punitive action against them.