March 01, 2007	Thursday	Safar 11, 1428

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ISLAMABAD, Feb 28: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the National Assembly Wednesday took notice of the naming of two housing schemes after parliament in clear violation of the law and sought a detailed report in this regard.

Presided over by Malik Allah Yar, the committee was informed that Parliamentarians Enclave and Senate Employees Cooperative Housing Society had been launched by no other than the employees of the Senate in collaboration with some private parties for purely commercial purposes but no action had so far been taken against them.

The Senate Secretariat would now inform the committee about the names of the organizers of these schemes and other details.

In its last meeting, the committee had sought a report from the Ministry of Defence on the names of the housing societies synonymous with armed forces like Askari and Bahria.

“This is a big question mark on the honor of parliament and the Senate. Any financial scam in these housing societies would only bring a bad name to both the houses,” Muttahida Majlis-i- Amal (MMA) MNA Liquat Baloch observed.

Majority of the applicants have expressed their reservations about the authenticity of these housing schemes, as the organizers do not possess the land required for the projects.

“I wonder why action has not been taken against those misusing the names of the country’s two sacred institutions so openly,” Malik Allah Yar observed.

Senate Secretary Raja Ameen had to fumble for words when he was asked why he failed to take action against the employees misusing the name of the Senate and that whether he had reported the matter to the Chairman Senate Mohammedmian Soomro.

“Yes, it is a violation of the rules and it is also true that we have yet to take an action against these employees,” Mr Ameen said while replying to a question.

PPP MNA Qurban Ali Shah said the actual price of the form of the Senate housing society was Rs100, however, it was selling at Rs5,000. He told the committee that former senator Ayaz Mandokhel had started the Parliamentarians Enclave housing project for commercial purposes but no action was taken against him.

He said the Senate Employees Cooperative Housing Scheme had been started three years back but it had yet to get an NOC from the CDA. He said the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had already taken action against some illegal housing schemes. However, they were yet to move against these two societies.

Raja Amin said the Senate Employees Cooperative Housing Society had so far acquired 1,100 acres in Zone-V.

The PAC also sough province-wise report of recruitments made by Chairman Senate Mohammedmian Soomro. The committee was surprise to note that 831 employees were serving just 100 members of the Senate and 636 servants were at the disposal of the National Assembly’s 342 MNAs.