Probe begins into RDA scam
During its first meeting held in Lahore, the committee raised several concerns regarding RDA's flawed financial management system, demanding complete records of the RDA's bank accounts and the transfer of funds through Call Deposit Receipts (CDRs) to other banks.
The next meeting is expected to be held on June 19, during which all Directors of Administration and Finance from the past nine years have been summoned. The decision regarding summoning former Director Generals will be made later.
The matter is already under investigation by two separate forums: the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and the Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE), Rawalpindi Region. Simultaneously, the fact-finding committee formed by the Punjab Chief Secretary convened at the office of Mudassar Waheed Malik, Member Taxes, Board of Revenue Punjab, who is also the convener of the inquiry. Other members present included Moazzam Iqbal Supra, MD of the Punjab Government Servants Housing Foundation, and Madiha Tahir Shah, Additional Secretary A&H.
From the RDA, Director-General Kinza Murtaza, Deputy Director Iftikhar Janjua, and Assistant Director Waqar Asghar Raja appeared before the committee.
Ex-DD' death sparks concern
The committee also reviewed the recent mysterious death — possibly a suicide or murder — of Junaid Taj Bhatti, the former Deputy Director Finance of RDA and former DG of PHA Sialkot. Bhatti died under suspicious circumstances in his Sialkot office on May 13. His death has added further complexity to the scandal.
The fact-finding meeting lasted about an hour. The issues raised and the requested records will be thoroughly examined in the upcoming session scheduled for Thursday, June 19, in Lahore.
Systemic oversight, audit failures
This is considered the biggest financial scandal in RDA's history, spanning nearly a decade. Despite the fact that RDA accounts were audited regularly each year, the massive embezzlement went unnoticed.
Shockingly, none of the authorised financial officers, including Director Generals and Directors of Administration and Finance, ever requested or reviewed the bank statements to track fund transfersan act that could have exposed the issue much earlier and led to the establishment of a more secure financial system.
During this period, the Divisional Commissioners of Rawalpindi also served as acting DGs of RDA, including the current Secretary Housing Punjab. Several officers from the DMG groupsome of whom are now retired or serving in other high-ranking positionsalso held the RDA DG post during this time.
Contractors' payments suspended
Contractors and their families faced hardships during the Eidul Azha holidays as no payments were made for the past month or so.
Routine operations at the RDA have been severely disrupted following the exposure of a financial scandal in government funds about a month ago. Since the scandal emerged, all payments to contractors have been suspended.
When contacted through the RDA spokesperson, Director General Kinza Murtaza said that payments would be made to the contractors soon. However, no explanation was provided as to why payments had been delayed so far or why the contractors had been left in distress.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
20 hours ago
- Express Tribune
University Town plot sales halted
Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) Director General Kinza Murtaza visited the University Town Housing Scheme and imposed an immediate ban on the sale and purchase of plots and files due to incomplete and unauthorised development. The inspection of Blocks A, B, C, E, and F revealed several violations, including the absence of RDA-approved service designs, despite ongoing development and plot sales. The DG expressed concern over the dilapidated infrastructure, highlighting unpaved roads, encroachments, a neglected main entrance, and the poor condition of Aziz Khan Road. During a high-level meeting with residents and complainants, civic problems such as mosquito and snake infestations, lack of proper road carpeting, low-voltage electricity, unsafe wiring, open manholes, and a malfunctioning sewage system were raised. DG RDA assured residents that the authority is committed to resolving these issues. She ordered immediate recovery of amenity plots earmarked for mosques, playgrounds, parks, and schools, and directed clearance of encroachments from the Layout Plan (LoP). She further announced that no revised LoP will be issued to the developer, while legal actionincluding arrest and disqualificationwill be considered under the law.
Express Tribune
05-08-2025
- Express Tribune
Eight officials summoned in RDA scam probe
The Punjab Chief Secretary's fact-finding inquiry committee has summoned eight serving Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) employees and two retired officers to appear in Lahore on August 8 for the sixth round of proceedings in connection with the embezzlement of Rs1.94 billion from a government account. The matter had surfaced in the second week of May this year. Despite the financial scandal spanning over six years, no former Director General or Director of Administration and Finance of the RDAaside from the incumbentshas been summoned to date. Thus far, scrutiny has been limited to junior and subordinate staff. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB)'s ongoing investigation has yet to yield a significant breakthrough. Meanwhile, an internal inquiry committee established at the RDA a fortnight ago hasn't finalised its report. The committee was tasked with determining whether funds held as financial securities in a separate bank account were improperly transferred to other accounts via Call Deposit Receipts (CDRs). Sources in the RDA confirm that CDRs worth Rs1.29b remain unaccounted for in the authority's records. The bank in question has reportedly declined to credit these CDRs back to the RDA without official direction from NAB. Separately, it has been confirmed that Rs1.94b was indeed transferred to other accounts before the scandal's disclosure. The internal RDA committeeestablished to verify whether any such transfers occurred between internal accountshas yet to submit its findings, despite more than two and a half weeks having passed. Those summoned to appear before the Chief Secretary's inquiry committee on August 8 in Lahore include Deputy Director (Finance) Muhammad Masood Arshad, Assistant Director (Finance) Waqar Asghar Raja, senior accountant Syed Al-Raziq, accountants Qasim uz-Zaman, Muhammad Jameel, and Saba Gul, Stenographer Jehangir Ahmed, and senior clerk Shafqat Ali. Additionally, former Director of Administration and Finance, Asif Mahmood Janjua, and former Assistant Director, Khawaja Arshad Javed, both retired, have also been summoned. Notably, over the entire six-year period covered by the scandal, no former DG or Director of Administration and Financeother than the current officialshas been called to account. Last month, the RDA administration begun implementing key reforms to restore financial discipline. As an initial step, the implementation of an irregular promotion was halted, and a revised framework for financial authority was introduced.
Express Tribune
30-07-2025
- Express Tribune
Accountability eludes RDA probe
The fact-finding inquiry initiated by the Punjab Chief Secretary into the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) financial scandal has entered its concluding phase, but without accountability in the loop. Written testimonies from six employees of the RDA Finance Directorate, along with two retired officers, have been submitted. A pivotal hearing is scheduled for July 31 in Lahore, after which the final inquiry report — complete with recommendations — will be submitted to the CS. Sources told The Express Tribune that a female member of the inquiry committee recorded statements from the summoned officials on Tuesday regarding the alleged embezzlement involving the transfer of Rs1.94 billion from an official RDA account. Simultaneously, a separate departmental probe committee — formed to investigate transfers via Certificates of Deposit (CDRs) from another RDA bank account — has failed to meet its seven-day reporting deadline. Notably, despite the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) having questioned all summoned individuals in connection with the scandal, no investigation has yet been conducted involving any Directors General or Directors of Administration and Finance who held office during the five-year span in which the alleged misappropriations occurred. To date, only two retired officers — former Director of Admin and Finance Asif Mehmood Janjua, and former Assistant Director Khawaja Arshad Javed — have been officially questioned. It's essential to note that within the RDA, only two positionsthe Director General and the Director of Administration and Finance — are vested with the authority to approve financial transactions. Over two months have passed since the scandal surfaced in mid-May, revealing that Rs1.94b in public funds had been transferred via CDRs to various companies, firms, and individuals. Despite the gravity of the matter, no responsible parties have been identified, nor has any portion of the misappropriated amount been recovered. Parallel investigations are ongoing by NAB, the chief secretary's fact-finding committee, and the departmental probe team formed by the RDA Director General. However, none have produced definitive findings. The departmental committee, specifically tasked with determining whether RDA's financial securities were transferred between internal accounts, has yet to deliver its overdue report. Last month, the RDA administration begun implementing key reforms to restore financial discipline. As an initial step, the implementation of an irregular promotion was halted, and a revised framework for financial authority was introduced. Under the new structure, the director finance and deputy director finance had been jointly authorised to approve financial transactions up to Rs0.5 million. According to sources, the reforms came in response to investigations by the NAB, the Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment, and the fact-finding committee set up by the chief secretary. The scandal involved the unauthorised transfer of Rs1.94 billion in public funds to various companies and individuals through Call Deposit Receipts (CDRs).
