PESHAWAR, Oct 28: NWFP Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee has expressed serious concern over rampant financial malpractices prevalent in various government departments in the province. It called upon the top bureaucrats to observe financial discipline in their respective departments in the larger interest of the people.

The PAC meeting was held here on Tuesday presided over by Speaker Karamtullah Khan Chagarmati and attended by MPAs Abdul Akbar Khan, Pir Sabir Shah, Ziad Akram Khan Durrani, advocate Mukhtiar Khan, Zameen Khan, Alamzeb Khan and Malik Tehmash Khan.

It underlined the need for exposing the financial irregularities in various departments, which deal with the development schemes.

It called upon the senior officials to discourage the practice of condoning to the wrongdoers at any level and take disciplinary action against all those involved in the malpractices.

The PAC members expressed their dissatisfaction over the senior officials’ negligence towards the wrongdoings of the subordinate staff in various departments and termed it very damaging to the governance at the higher level.

The meeting asked the government to hold such officials responsible for the financial and administrative irregularities in their respective departments.

The participants asked the concerned departments to send their working papers 15 days before the beginning of the PAC meeting otherwise appropriate action would be taken against them.

The committee called for ending sluggishness in the departments and warned against defending laxity and negligence. The PAC members further asked the departments to provide their relevant record to the committee, if and when required, because the PAC could not decide about certain issues without going through the relevant records.

The government departments were also asked to hold meetings of their respective accounts committees before the PAC meetings.

The committee members further asked the departments to set their priorities before seeking budgetary allocations for their respective development programmes as often their budgets lapsed without being properly utilised.

Speaking on the occasion Mr Chagarmati urged the standing committee on home and tribal affairs to prepare its recommendations for improvement of law and order situation in the province.