KARACHI: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Sindh Assembly on Monday directed the home secretary to investigate irregularities in over Rs2.25billion contracts for the supply of food, medicines, clothes and other articles to the inmates of prisons across the province.

The irregularities were revealed during the examination of the audit reports of the prisons department from 2019 to 2020 in the PAC meeting, presided over by committee chairman Nisar Ahmed Khuhro.

He directed the home secretary to submit the investi-gation in 30 days.

The meeting was attended by committee members Khurram Karim Soomro and Makhdoom Fakharuz Zaman, Inspector General of Prisons QaziNazir Ahmed and jail superintendents of various jails.

Mr Khuhro asked the prisons chief to brief the PAC on the details of the contracts and contractors. He also asked him about the quality of food being provided to the jail inmates.

The prisons chief told the PAC meeting that the prisoners were provided with three meals a day in all jails across the province and the food quality was also checked by medical officers and judges.

He said that Rs2.45bn was spent on the provision of food and other articles, including medicines, furniture and clothes, adding that a formal tender was issued for their procurement.

However, the jail authorities did not give the audit details of Rs2.45bn spent on the purchase of items forthe prisoners.

The audit report revealed that Rs37 million was spent on medicines, Rs34.5 million on uniforms, Rs1.27m on furniture, Rs61.8m on machinery and plants in prisons and Rs2.9m for purchasing clothes.

In the audit paras, the director general of the audit raised objections to the expenditure of Rs2.45bn on providingfood to the prisoners across the province.

The PAC directed the jail authorities to appoint officers of the food authority to check the quality of the food served to the prisoners in the Central Jail Karachi and other district prisons.

The District Malir Jail authorities could not provide audit records of spending Rs8m.

When asked by the PAC chairman as to where the amount was spent, the jail authorities said Rs8m was spent on maintenance and petrol.

The PAC directed the jail authorities to provide details of the expenditure of Rs8m within 10 days.