A-G report unearths massive irregularities in Pakistan's defence expenditure

Islamabad, Sep 25 (ANI): A whopping 2.5 billion rupees were wasted in "commonly occurring irregularities" in several departments of Pakistan's armed forces and defence ministry, a report formulated by the Auditor General of Pakistan has revealed.

The Auditor General Report 2009-10, submitted to parliament, made startling revelations that 801.06 million rupees were lost due to violation of rules, 809.54 million rupees due to unauthorised expenditures and 379.84 million rupees due to non-recovery of dues, the Dawn reported.

Noting that the irregularities occurred almost every year, the report said that the other major causes for the wastage were blockage of funds, unjustified payments and weak management of contracts.

It said that the procurement and execution of works required special attention, as these departments of the defence production units and various arms of the armed forces, cantonment boards, the Military Estate Offices and the Military Engineering Services were particularly susceptible to "costly errors".

The audit report pointed out that although 308.91 billion rupees were allocated in the defence budget 2008-09, the expenses went up to 332.52 billion rupees, mainly owing to the revision in pay-scales and the cost of rations for the army.

According to the report, the auditors noted that 135.68 million rupees collected on behalf of the government were not deposited in the treasury, and also objected to the loss of 594.21 million rupees in the navy owing to violations of rules, including irregular purchases and improper contracts.

The Auditor General also identified serious flaws in contracts and deals finalised with foreign suppliers, which led to foreign exchange losses in addition to non-recovery of money from the defaulting contractors. (ANI)