KARACHI, Sept 10: The Civil Aviation Authority has ‘unjustifiably’ handed over around three acres near the Quaid-i-Azam International Airport to a private party causing a loss of around Rs5.4 billion, says an audit report.

The report prepared by the Auditor General of Pakistan refers to a Feb 24, 2010 letter of the CAA headquarters (2825/6/Estates) that says “as a result of demarcation carried out by Sindh government’s revenue authorities in 1995, land measuring 02.02 acres (only) as per survey No: 526 & 527, in Deh Mehran was inside airport boundary wall constructed by the CAA in 1994.”

The audit report 2012-13 says the CAA accordingly issued a letter of handing over the possession of the 02.02 acres to khatedars on July 20, 2010. It was found that the Sindh government granted the land from 153 Deh Mehran Tapo, Malir, on a 99-year lease for residential-cum-commercial purposes to a leasee.

Two new survey numbers were later framed from 153 Deh Mehran — an area of three acres out of Survey No 526 and two acres out of Survey No 527 from the Survey Department of Karachi, says the audit report. It notes that the same area was purchased by a company from the leasee through a registered lease deed.

The company claimed that its land of five acres was encroached upon by the CAA, whereas according to the demarcation exercise carried out by the Sindh government revenue authorities in 1995 only 02.02 acres were in an unauthorized possession of the CAA, observes the audit report.

As per revenue authority records, the remaining area of Survey Nos 526 and 527 (Sindh government’s land) was consumed in the airport link road and the road leading to the Malir Cantonment constructed by the City District Government Karachi, it says. The audit report further says that the CDGK also used some land of these survey numbers for beautification works constructed outside the airport boundary wall.

Despite these facts, the land measuring around five acres — in two pieces of 02.02 acres and 03 acres — was handed over to the company / revenue authorities, the report says. It adds that a rainwater drain, which was passing through these 02.02 acres, was supposedly encroached upon by the CAA as per the newly framed surveys. Hence the area of rainwater drain — roughly half an acre — was also to be measured for handing over of due land to the company but the measurement was made by excluding this land.

The overall process resulted in excess land of the CAA being handed over to the company that resulted in loss due to unjustified handing over of CAA land of 2.98 acres to company / revenue authorities worth approximately Rs5.48 billion, the report says.

The audit maintains that the loss occurred due to inadequate oversight mechanisms and for not exercising the relevant financial rules and internal controls and failure of the authority to protect public interest.

The report says the matter was discussed in the departmental accounts committee (DAC) in the first week of January 2013. The DAC directed the CAA to conduct an inquiry into the case and asked the estate branch to brief the DAC in the next meeting as to how the CAA had agreed with the contention of the Sindh revenue authorities.

The CAA was also directed to find out from the military cantonment lands department the title of the land in this case and in all future cases. The DAC directed that all CAA lands be muted in the name of the CAA and should be properly fenced. The compliance of the DAC directives was not reported till finalization of the report, says the AGP in his report.