ISLAMABAD Jan 30: The ad hoc Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Wednesday directed the ministry of labour manpower and overseas Pakistanis to immediately recover Rs1.085 million from four former ministers and six secretaries of the department for unauthorised use of telephones during the year 1999-00.

The names of ministers and outstanding amount against them are: Ghulam Akbar Lasi Rs0.616 million, Amanullah Gichki Rs1.02 million, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain Rs0.070 million and Sheikh Rashid Ahmed Rs0.0215 million.

The ministry avoided giving names of the six secretaries while the names of the ministers were readily made available.

The overdue amounts were fixed by audit officials alleging them of using more than one telephone without authorisation.

The PAC also voiced its concern over the attitude of successive governments in continuing the 40-year-old law of utilisation of one telephone by every functionary including the minister and secretaries.

Today no high official could afford to perform his duty of providing remedy to hundreds of clients by utilising only one telephone,it pointed out.

The committee asked the departments concerned to get special permission of the finance ministry before using more than one telephone.

The PAC, which met with its chairman HU Baig in the chair at the Parliament House, also directed the ministry of petroleum and natural resources to explain as to how the cost of the OGDCL House had been doubled to Rs517 million from the originally approved cost of Rs271.1 million.

Petroleum secretary, who defended his ministry, said departmental inquiries had been conducted and their results would be made available to the PAC for review.

The committee expressed its dismay over the accumulated losses of Rs7.223 billion accruing owing to what was described as ill-conceived Saindak metals project.

It observed that due to the non viability of non commissioning of the project not only that the losses would be borne by the government, but its total equity had also been lost.

The committee was told by the officials of ministry of natural resources that the Saindak project had costed Rs14 billion to the government exchequer till date, but was not functioning.

The project had now been leased out to a Chines firm which would take it over in March, but without owning its liabilities.

The Auditor General of Pakistan told the committee that a report identifying managerial faults, misappropriations, embezzlement and mal practices committed in the project would be provided to the PAC for review.

A sub committed was formed comprising Talat Masood and Muzaffar Ahmad to look into the irregular and uneconomical expenditure on purchase of durable goods amounting to Rs8.298 million.

The amount was spend without inviting tenders and fulfilling codal formalities for furnishing of the Punjab House in Islamabad on the orders of the former prime minister Mian Nawaz Sharif during fiscal 1998-99.