June 25, 2007	Monday	Jamadi-us-Sani 09, 1428

ISLAMABAD, June 24: The auditors have detected over Rs2.5 billion irregularities in the accounts of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) ranging from non-recovery of taxes and water charges to tampering of bank cheques and overpayment to contractors.

The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has failed to recover Rs2.338 billion from the Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) and Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) as the sharing cost of the Khanpur Water Supply project that brings water from Khanpur Dam to Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

The CDA was the executor of the Rs6.818 billion Metropolitan Water Supply Project implemented in November 1999 and financed by the government of Japan. The CDA has also failed to recover an amount of Rs63.685 million from Wasa and RCB as charges of water both the civic bodies had received from Khanpur Dam.

As per the amortisation schedule, the CDA has to repay the foreign loan along with interest to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) by taking the sharing cost from RCB and Wasa.

But, the authority has failed to recover the money from the two civic agencies of Rawalpindi, the Auditor-General of Pakistan has revealed in its report for the year 2004-05.

The report has been put before the Parliament and would be taken up by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the National Assembly in its meetings.

The CDA has also been unable to recover Rs24.014 million from a bidder who was allotted a plot for construction of luxury apartments in Markaz F-10. The authority has cancelled the allotment of the plot due to the non-recovery of yearly instalment from the bidder, but has failed to take possession of its land. Now the land is in the control of the same defaulter.

According to the audit report, the authority could not recover Rs12.8 million as property tax and water charges from some industrial and commercial areas during the period 1991-2004.

The audit has also pointed out undue payment of Rs6.465 million on account of ex-gratia to a contractor during the construction of National Art Gallery, Islamabad.

According to the audit department, the Capital Hospital Islamabad also spent Rs3.7 million on procurement of Chinese patient monitoring system. The hospital was required to procure a system of Europe, Japan or USA origin instead.

In the office of deputy director, Machinery Pool Organisation (Maintenance), Rs3.582 million was withdrawn through tampering of cheques. The amounts were enhanced by adding figures/words in the left side of the cheques from September 2001 to September 2003.

Perhaps, under immense pressure, the authority had failed to recover Rs2.814 million as rent from ministers, MNAs, senators, government and CDA officers including some retire ones who had occupies Parliament Lodges and government hospitals.