LAHORE, Jan 6: The Punjab Local Government Commission (PLGC) has started inquiry into financial affairs of 18 district governments, sending letters to their nazims to justify alleged irregularities by them or officials under them within a week.

The letters have been sent after a clarification by the auditor-general that the nazims were required to submit the audit reports concerned to their respective councils for examination by the accounts committees. The committees were then required to submit their recommendations to district councils for appropriate action and to finalise the process.

“We are confused as to whom we should reply. Under the law, our assemblies are required to finalise the process whereas the commission is asking us to justify its objections,” a nazim told Dawn here on Tuesday.

The 18 district nazims are among those who have been objecting to the audit on the instructions of the provincial government, or its other steps.

They have been sent notices by PLGC member Naveed Chaudhry who said the legal body was conducting an inquiry into the financial irregularities committed by the district governments (nazims or officials), and was not seeking explanations of the audit objections.

“Audit report could be one source of PLGC’s information about the irregularities. But, it can rely on any other source as well,” he said.

The letters have been sent to nazims of Lahore, Sheikhupura, Kasur, Nankana, Gujranwala, Hafizabad, Mandi Bahauddin, Gujrat, Narowal, Sialkot, Jhelum, Chakwal, Rawalpindi, Attock, Faisalabad, Jhang, Toba Tek Singh and Sargodha.

The letters say on instances of corruption, suspected embezzlement, misappropriation or loss to the government exchequer, the commission under Section 132 of the Punjab Local Government Ordinance (PLGO), 2001, has decided to call explanation/statement of the mentioned persons.

The persons in question include the nazims in case of districts like Jhelum or officials in case of districts like Gujranwala, or both. Each of them faces specific financial issue.

The letters direct the nazims to obtain the requisite explanation of the persons concerned with documentary evidence, if any, and send them back to Chaudhry by Jan 13, failing which it shall be presumed that they have nothing to offer.

Those opposing the letters said the allegations they contained were objections raised in the recently held audit by the auditor-general. “This is not an inquiry and we are not bound to settle the audit objections through the commission,” one of the nazims contested.

They said the auditor-general had in a letter sent to Lahore District Nazim Mian Amer in reply to an explanation sought by him had maintained that the audit objections could only be removed by the district assemblies.

According to a copy of auditor-general’s reply supplied to Dawn, the regularity audit conducted into the affairs of the Lahore district government was not certification audit reports under Section 115(1) of the PLGO 2001.

The reports of the regularity audit were sent to the Punjab governor who forwarded them to the provincial government on Dec 12, 2008.

It said under sub-Section 2 of Section 115 of the PLGO, “the nazims shall cause the audit report to be submitted to the respective council which shall refer it for explanation to its accounts committee. The committee is required to discuss the report under the Punjab Local Government (Accounts) rules 2008 and submit its recommendations to the district council for appropriate action. Once this is done, the process attains finality.”

The reply mentions that the auditor general does not publicise the findings of the audit reports in the press, or otherwise. Redress of any grievances in this regard, therefore, does not lie with his institution, it says.

Chaudhry said the commission had asked the nazims to reply to the allegations of financial corruption by themselves or the officials under them in accordance with the law. Those failing to explain their conduct, or obtain a reply from those who had or were still working under them, would have to face the law, he said.