ISLAMABAD, Aug 30: The National Account-ability Bureau (NAB) is pursuing a 1986 case of fraudulent allotment of land by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) in the court and itself is accused of having seized CDA land.

This information was given to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the National Assembly on Wednesday as it continued its examination of the Audit Report 1999-2000 of the Ministry of Interior here for the second day.

The meeting, presided over by Sardar Ashiq Hussain Gopang, discussed several audit paras and cases including two related to the NAB.

In one case the NAB is prosecuting the fraudulent allotment of an industrial plot in 1986 in an accountability court. In the other CDA has sought intervention of the PAC to get vacated its site offices in the Parliament Lodges which it said NAB occupied in 2003.

While examining an audit para about “non-accountal of material worth Rs191,000”, the PAC was informed that NAB has been occupying the site offices established by the contractor for building the Parliament Lodges phase-II, which were situated adjacent to the NAB Headquarters, since 2003.

The PAC directed the CDA to write a letter to the NAB asking it to vacate the site.

In the 1986 case, the PAC expressed concern that CDA allotted a 1,000 square yard industrial plot to the firm Rehman in Sector I-10 but gave the allottee possession of 7333.33 square yards. The PAC objected to CDA regularising the expanded plot, after recovering the land price, and sought action against the officials responsible for “the fraudulent allotment”.

The PAC was of the view that in future the CDA Board should exercise its powers more judiciously.

Secretary Interior Syed Kamal Shah said the case was in an accountability court and any further action would be taken after the court verdict.

In another case the committee asked CDA to recover Rs4.448 million outstanding against some politicians and bureaucrats who stayed in the Parliament Lodges but did not pay.

When the CDA officials told the PAC that CDA will seek the help of Chief Election Commissioner to recover the dues from the politicians, they were advised to approach the concerned District Nazims for the recovery of dues form those politicians who were not in the parliament at present.

CDA Chairman Kamran Lashari said the CDA could not directly take action against the defaulters as a committee under Deputy Speaker National Assembly Sardar Yaqub is responsible for solving such matters.

MNA Riaz Fatyana complained in the meeting that illegal construction in the Parliament Lodges was creating problems for the resident legislators. Mr Lashari said he had received such complaints.

However when he suggested that the complaints should go to the deputy speaker of the National Assembly, the PAC asked the CDA to remove encroachments in the lodges.

The PAC members who attended the meeting included Kanwar Khalid Younis, Safdar Shakir, Col (retd) Ghulam Rasool Sahi, Riaz Fatyana, Rai Mansab Ali, Asia Azeem, Qamar Zaman Kaira, Qurban Ali Shah, Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Hyderi and Major (retd) Tanveer Hussain.

Senior officers from Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Finance, Auditor General of Pakistan and CDA also present in the meeting.