The Public Accounts Committee, which has the ultimate say in the disposal of unsettled audit objections according to laws, has expressed dissatisfaction over the alleged inaction of the finance and the local government ministries to realise Tk65 crore from corrupt people.
While discussing the audits of different wings of the two ministries yesterday, the 15-member parliamentary body set a 30-day deadline to realise the money which the audit department in 2006-2007 and 2007-08 fiscal years detected as violation of the financial rule.
The audit department said the money had gone down the drain due to mismanagement, misappropriation and wastage.
“The amount of money involving the audit objections is over Tk65 crore. The Public Accounts Committee has recommended realisation of the money from the people, but the ministries seem uninterested in doing so. This makes us unhappy,” Abdus Shahid, a committee member, told the Dhaka Tribune after the meeting at the parliament building.
He said the ministries had been given 30 days to realise the money from the persons and report back to the committee after the deadline expired.
Independent MP Rustum Ali Farazi, another member of the committee, told reporters: “The audit wings detect audit objections and the ministries remain idle. If this trend [inaction in realising money] goes on, corruption will go up.
“The corrupt officials will feel encouraged to commit more corruption.”
The working paper presented at the meeting shows that the audit objections were reported in the internal resources division’s customs, excise and VAT circle and Customs House and Company Circle under the Finance Ministry, and the Dhaka City Corporation under the Local Government Ministry.
Of the total amount, the audit objections in the wings under the Finance Ministry is over Tk50 crore while the Dhaka City Corporation caused drainage of Tk15 crore.
Former home minister Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir presided over the meeting, also attended by AKM Mayeedul Islam, M Amanullah, Ishaq Hossain Talukder, AFM Ruhal Haque, Afsarul Amin, Golam Dastagir Gazi and Mayeen Uddin Khan Badal.
