ISLAMABAD, May 14: The National Accountability Bureau has initiated investigations into irregularities allegedly committed in the Machine Pool Organization (MPO) — a directorate of the Capital Development Authority — causing a loss of Rs100.076 million to the Authority, sources in the NAB told Dawn on Wednesday.

They said the irregularities had also been pointed out by the Public Accounts Committee, adding that over-payment and non-recovery of machine-hiring charges had been found in the organization.

The defunct army monitoring team in the CDA had also detected various malpractice in the MPO and some of its officials, including its director Maqsood Ahmed, had been suspended for some period.

According to a PAC report, the MPO had provided its construction machinery to various divisions of the CDA but their hiring-charges, amounting to Rs87.832 million, were not recovered.

In a separate case, an irregularity of Rs4.838 million was detected in the organization as the directorate failed to recover the cost of premix material and charges of vehicles from various divisions/formations of the CDA.

The report said that the CDA had suffered a loss of Rs0.757 million due to non-provision of concession on the purchase of fuel. The MPO, it added, had been purchasing fuel in bulk from Shell Pakistan under an agreement signed in October 1971. Under the agreement, Shell had to provide five per cent concession on total cost of the purchased fuel but this benefit was not availed.

In another case, the MPO charged for hiring of machines according to the rates fixed in 1991, which should have been revised to meet the increase in the cost of POL, parts and labour.

During the last decade, the MPO remained in loss due to no-revision of rates which resulted in a loss of Rs6.649 million to the CDA.