LAHORE: In a move aimed at enforcing financial discipline and safeguarding state property, the Public Accounts Committee-I (PAC-l) has ordered the provincial administrative heads to submit within 30 days a record of all government land leases granted to public and private member clubs across Punjab alongside detailed reports on illegal housing schemes.
The directives were issued during a meeting of the parliamentary watchdog chaired by PAC-l Chairman Chaudhry Iftikhar Hussain Chhachhar to examine the audit report for the financial year 2022-23 concerning the Punjab Board of Revenue (BOR), its attached departments, and the Punjab Land Records Authority (PLRA).
The committee directed the Senior Member Board of Revenue (SMBR), the secretary local government, the director general of the Lahore Development Authority (LDA), and the secretary housing to present the complete lease documentation, including terms and conditions, applicable construction rules on leased lands, and status of compliance.
The authorities were also tasked with compiling an inventory listing all legally compliant housing schemes alongside a thorough breakdown of unauthorised housing projects and the enforcement actions taken against them to assist the committee in preparing its final report.
The meeting was attended by senior officers of the BOR and its line departments, additional deputy commissioners revenue (ADCRs), sub-registrars, as well as representatives from the audit and finance departments.
During the proceedings, the panel closely scrutinised audit paragraphs concerning government revenues, taking serious notice of uncollected and under-recovered state funds. Key audit objections discussed included shortfalls in stamp duty, withholding tax, fines, revenue losses caused by noncompliant housing societies, under-valuation of properties, non-production of records for audit verification, and issues surrounding the retrieval and utilisation of state land.
The committee also evaluated the implementation status of previous audit objections and examined the explanations put forward by department representatives.