April 13, 2007	Friday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 24, 1428

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LAHORE, April 12: Reports of National Accountability Bureau’s probe into the assets of 300 Lahore Development Authority (LDA) employees have sent shock waves among the staff, with a number of them going underground

‘Wealthy’ LDA officials, especially of the lower cadre, have stopped coming to the offices in cars and once overcrowded LDA Plaza parking lot on Egerton Road now offers a plenty of space for visitors.

Earlier, the authorities suspended Land Development-I director Irfan Ali Bhatti almost a week after he went `missing’ when director-general Raja Muhammad Abbas directed him to relinquish charge of his office and report to the administration for further posting.

He was also asked to coordinate with a NAB team investigating some land scam cases.

Before a formal notification of his new assignment, Mr Bhatti told the administration on Saturday (April 7) that he was unwell and wanted to visit his family residing in Canada.

He applied for ex-Pakistan leave and left without getting it sanctioned.

Mr Bhatti along with his family had immigrated to Canada back in 2001 when an army monitoring team took over the LDA. He returned in 2005 and joined the organization again.

The official vehicle in his use has been withdrawn and allocated to some other officer.

He was suspended on Thursday for “his failure to relinquish charge as land development-I director and absenting himself from duties since the directives for his transfer were issued.”

Under Section 14 of LDA regulations, only a Pakistani is qualified to hold an office in the organization. However, the government may relax the condition for dual nationality holders.

Sources in LDA say that more officials are trying to secure leave to avoid NAB inquiries. Deputy director (exemption) Shaikh Arshad has already gone on leave.

Officers working on deputation in LDA are also looking out for escape routes and are getting themselves posted at far-off places in the province. Deputy director (Sabzazar) Zahid Saleem Gondal got himself transferred to Vehari on Monday.

The director-general on Thursday issued new directions for ensuring security of official record. A three-man committee comprising director Khalid Mahmood and deputy directors Rana Usman Anwar and Nadeem Akhtar Zaidi has been formed for the purpose.

The committee will prepare lists of plots exempted by the LDA, especially in Jauhar Town. It will also make index of all the documents in plot files and signatures of the committee members will be taken to verify the record. This record will be considered as a basic document for further processing.

The entire record will be placed under a lock and no file will be removed without a written permission by the relevant land development in-charge.