LAHORE - Punjab Accounts Committee one Thursday took serious notice of the irregularities to the tune of millions of rupees in the Lahore Development Authority (LDA). Chairman of the Committee Punjab Assembly Opposition leader Ch Zaheerud Din heading meeting of the committee found from various paras of the audit department of the authority that irregularity of Rs1500 million have been clearly identified against the LDA but the officials concerned have never taken note of that. It came to the Committee knowledge that three petrol stations in Liberty Market and Gulshan-e-Ravi had completed their lease period over the last one year but they were still operating earning lakhs of rupees without paying single penny to the LDA. It also came into notice of the Committee that no plan was prepared by the LDA to auction land of the said stations. When a question was put to the Director General LDA on the reason of this delinquency, he told the Committee that the auction would be carried out within a month and that notices have been served on the owners of these stations. On being asked to produce record of the lease period as well as notice issued to the owners of the petrol stations, the DG failed to produce any record in this behalf on which Chairman of the Committee showed his fury and directed the DG to produce the same within 24 hours and also tell about the loss suffered by the national exchequer from the stations and recovery of the same be made. The PAC Chairman questioned that who are the people so influential that even the DG is helpless before them. The Chairman remarked that the official staff remains quiet against the defaulters of billions of rupees while it does not spare a person who owes money to the department for five marla plot or even for the water bill. Another para showed worth Rs288 million bogus allotments of 180 plots. DG LDA and the Secretary Housing could neither present record of these allotments nor furnish any satisfactory answer. On that the Committee called for the appearance of the official who had inquired into the matter. It also directed for cancelling the bogus allotments and also getting the land recovered from the illegal occupants. Secretary Housing admitted before the committee that the monetary embezzlement would run into trillions of rupees if the cases of public land leased out over the last 30 years through the LDA and other departments is probed. It was also brought into the committee notice that the practice of granting allotments and leasing out the government land without auction and advertisement is common. LDA Director General on this told the committee that before 1998 land was leased out even on a single application and after that the policy of open auction was adopted as such it cannot do anything on those allotments made prior to that. Another para revealed that as many as 260 quarters and 13 godowns of the LDA are under illegal possession over the last many decades and the authority has not taken any action on it. The DG said they were allotted in 1954 but LDA failed to produce material in this regard when asked by the committee. The committee called for holding inquiry into these allotments. The others paras of the report mentioned about Rs10 million to Rs20 million financial irregularities which was very astonishing for the committee.