ISLAMABAD, May 27: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has severely criticized the health ministry for various irregularities in its accounts and for its failure to spend Rs560 million on development sector , sources told Dawn here on Thursday.

The sources said the committee members had expressed their concern over the fact that the ministry had distributed a large amount given to it as supplementary grants among various non- governmental organizations (NGOs) in violation of rules.

According to the sources, in response to hard-hitting questions of the committee members, the health ministry officials disclosed that they had distributed supplementary grants to various NGOs like Fatmid Foundation, Al-Shifa Eye Trust Hospital and some Lahore-based NGOs.

The sources said the ministry officials did not disclose the amounts paid to each NGO. However, the PAC was informed that the ministry had given Rs11.6 million to Fatmid Foundation.

The PAC reprimanded the ministry officials for not utilizing Rs560 million development fund under which it was to purchase medicines and recruit lady health visitors (LHVs) throughout the country.

The sources said the PAC members did not accept the reason given by the ministry officials that the fund could not be utilized as they had been barred by the government to recruit LHVs.

While giving financial guidelines, the PAC urged the ministry to spend money on research projects aimed at improving general health facilities to the public. The PAC also issued a number of directives to the ministry and, particularly to the National Institute of Health (NIH) in order to settle their accounts, which were found dissatisfactory by the Auditor General's office.

The PAC members noted that the ministry had not conducted inquiries in several cases of irregularities and corruption properly and issued orders of holding fresh inquiries in some cases. One such case was the theft of 380 Hepatitis-B Latex kits worth Rs1.154 million.

The PAC felt that the inquiry was not conducted properly as all culprits had not been identified and the responsibility had been fixed only on a low-paid employee. The sources said the whole consignment of Hepatitis-B kits went missing from the NIH and the inquiry had been closed after arresting a laboratory assistant.

The committee members were of the view that it was not possible for a laboratory assistant to commit the crime without bringing it in the knowledge of senior officials.

Similarly, fresh inquiry was also ordered in another case pertaining to alleged embezzlement of Rs795,300 on account of purchase of chemicals by the NIH, apart from recovery of the amount from the culprits.

Finding some of replies of the NIH not satisfactory, the PAC ordered the principal accounting officer to take required action, wherever necessary.

The meeting, presided over by Malik Allahyar Khan, was attended by MNAs Mohammad Safdar Shakir, Ghulam Sarwar Khan, Riaz Fatyana, Kanwar Khalid Yunis, Liaqat Baloch, Maj (retired) Tanvir Hussain Syed, Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, Ghulam Rasool Sahi, Dr Abdul Ghafar Khan Jatoi, Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, Wasi Zafar and Chaudhry Qamaruz Zaman Kaira apart from the auditor general, the accountant general, the secretary of the health ministry and other officers of the departments concerned.