LAHORE, Sept 3: The Punjab Assembly’s public accounts committee-1 on Wednesday sought a report regarding official “castles” of bureaucrats.

Chairman Azim Ghumman gave the ruling while discussing the audit report about the recovery of Rs700,000 each from the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, teachers residing in official residences spread over one and a half acres and using the surplus space for cultivating vegetables, etc.

The committee felt that similar charges should also be recovered from high-ranking officers living in such big official residences across the province.

The committee also directed recovery of Rs267,000 from one Aashiq Gill who worked for two government departments simultaneously.

He was working with the Faisalabad Municipal Corporation when he went on extraordinary long leave and got employment with the Agriculture University as technical assistant in 1984. Then he was made lecturer before retiring as assistant professor in 1996.

BRIEF: The Punjab Assembly’s standing committee on agriculture was briefed about the working of the department on Wednesday.

Of the four issues — pesticides, price and marketing of farm produce, farm loans and tubewells — the committee could only discuss the pesticides problem.

It stressed upon enhancing making rigorous punishment for pesticide adulterators and making relevant laws more effective.

The body was told that lack of district attorneys was resulting in delay in hearing of cases pertaining to pesticides. It was stated that the department had written to the government to hire at least 100 more law officers to strengthen the role of judiciary.