ISLAMABAD, Aug 20: The auditor general of Pakistan (AGP) in its report for the year 2003-04 has detected several incidents of mismanagement, irregular payments and non-recovery of dues worth over Rs1.21 billion in the accounts of Defence Services and the Military Land and Cantonments Department.
According to the report, the highest irregularities worth Rs780.204 million were found in the accounts of Military Land and Cantonments Department followed by Rs188.416 million in Military Engineering Service (MES) and Rs103.529 million in Pakistan Army.
The report finds mismanagement of Rs81.021 million in the accounts of Pakistan Air Force, Rs54.031 million in Pakistan Navy and Rs7.592 million in the accounts of Director General Defence Procurement.
The AGP observes that “in a number of cases, contract conditions were not followed resulting in overpayments and irregular payments to contractors and expenditure was incurred without budgetary provisions on construction of various residential buildings.”
Moreover, “approval of the government for use of military buildings or lands for the purpose other than specified was also not obtained.”
It says significant overpayments were made in respect of pay, pension and allowances.
The report also points out non-recovery of cantonment taxes and other charges worth over Rs500 million by various cantonment boards. As per record of Cantonment Board, Murree, Chinar Public School was constructed by army authorities on 9.253 acres. Neither property tax was levied by the cantonment board nor recovery of property tax was made from January 1992 to June 2003. An amount of Rs22.901 million was recoverable from the school management.
In another case, army took over Alpine Bakery Complex in Murree which is being run on a commercial basis without paying any rent to the cantonment board, thus Rs678,674 was outstanding against army authorities as rent of the complex.
Similarly, it says, a big shopping centre, “Chinar Plaza”, was constructed by the management of Army Public School for commercial use on a piece of land measuring 4,077 square-feet belonging to the Cantonment Board, Murree. No property tax, however, was imposed by the board resulting in non-recovery of Rs660,068 as property tax from 1992-93 to 2002-03.
As per record of Cantonment Board, Multan, 23 properties held on residential lease were being used for commercial purposes. Neither sanction from the competent authority was obtained nor payment of premium was made by the users. An amount of Rs122.94 million was recoverable on account of premiums only on the basis of rates approved by the cantonment board. The report points out that lessees of 85 properties changed their residential buildings into commercial units in the limits of Cantonment Board, Nowshera, without obtaining fresh commercial leases. An amount of Rs60.77 million was recoverable on account of premium, development charges and ground rent.
Over the years, the report says, the land meant for active military use was being utilised for commercial purposes by construction of shops, markets, cinemas, poultry farms and petrol pumps without government sanction. It says that A-one military lands were also being leased out for agricultural purposes. “Neither the premium/rent of the land was being paid to the government nor was the income earned being deposited in government treasury.”
Quoting the rules, the report says that “all receipts from land entrusted to the management of the Military Estate Office shall be credited in full to the federal government and all expenditure on or income from land entrusted to the management of the military authorities is to be debited or credited, as the case may be, to the central revenues.”