Latest news with #PublicAccountsCommittee
Business Recorder
16 hours ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
PAC says concerned at rising toll tax
ISLAMABAD: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) sub-committee raised serious concerns about exorbitant increase in toll tax more than once in the last few months. Shahida Begum, convener of the sub-committee while chairing the meeting reviewed audit objections of the Ministry of Communications. The committee expressed concern over increase in toll tax more than once in a few months. Who increase the toll tax and how as such huge taxes are being collected from poor, convener of the committee asked. Secretary Communications responded that they have their own board and are authorised to increase toll tax after some time. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
System of regulating water firms needs complete overhaul, MPs warn
The system of regulating water companies needs 'a complete overhaul' as the sector hikes customer bills to expand failing infrastructure and tackle pollution, MPs have said. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said the Government must act with urgency to strengthen oversight of the sector to rebuild trust and ensure its poor performance improves. In a report released on Tuesday, the committee highlighted how bills are expected to rise at their fastest rate in 20 years while customer trust in the sector is at an all-time low. Years of underinvestment, a growing population and extreme weather caused by climate change have led to intense pressure on England's ageing water system, causing widespread flooding, supply issues, sewage pollution and leakages. Last year 10 companies were unable to generate enough income to cover their interest payments at a time when the sector must invest in environmental measures, cut leaks and build new reservoirs in the coming years to avoid a shortfall of five billion litres by 2050. 'The environmental performance of companies is woeful,' the report said. 'Ofwat and the EA (Environment Agency) have failed to secure industry compliance.' The PAC said reforms to the system of regulation carried out by the Environment Agency and the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) are needed 'to address the fragmentation of accountability and failure to enforce current environmental standards'. 'There are gaps in critical areas such as oversight of the wastewater network and understanding of the condition of assets,' the report read. 'No-one is taking ultimate responsibility for balancing affordability with long-term needs.' The PAC's inquiry found that 20% of people are struggling to afford their water bills while companies are implementing huge bill increases without explaining why, or how the money will be spent. In response, the group of MPs recommended Ofwat sets clear expectations for companies to explain where customer money is being spent, why bills are rising and what improvements customers can expect for their money, in the next six months. The report also warned that company plans to spend around £12 billion in the next five years to update the antiquated sewage system will only fix around 44% of sewage overflows. And while the Environment Department (Defra) created a £11 million fund for rolling out environmental improvements from water company fines in 2024, the money has not yet been distributed, with the PAC urging the Government to do so by the end of the year. Elsewhere, the committee warned that there appears to be 'no single guiding mind' balancing the need for improvements with the impact on bills. It is therefore calling for the Government to plug the gaps in regulator responsibilities and be explicit on the trade-offs between the need for improvements, water supply needs, and the impact on bills. In terms of financial failings, the PAC is urging Ofwat to review its powers and capabilities to ensure it can act to improve the financial resilience of the sector. Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, PAC chairman, said: 'The monumental scale of work required to reverse the fortunes of failing water companies is rivalled only in difficulty by the efforts needed to repair customers' faith in the sector. 'In the face of looming water shortages, steps must be taken immediately if the Government is to set the sector back on the right path. 'Customers are being expected to shoulder the burden of water companies' failings, without being told why or on what their money will be spent. 'It is past time that we had a low risk, low return water sector, from its current farcical state of overly complex, sometimes unregulated companies, and a culture of excessive dividends and borrowing. 'There is also a lot to be done in the regulatory sphere, with a pressing need to improve and streamline the existing regulatory regime. 'More must be done to stem the flow of pollution entering our waterways, as it poses a serious risk to human health and continues to degrade the quality of our lakes and rivers. 'However, regulators are overwhelmed by the number of prosecutions and appear unable to deter companies from acting unlawfully. 'Government must act now to strengthen regulators and support their efforts to hold companies to account.' An Environment Agency spokesperson said: 'We take our role in protecting environment and regulating the water sector very seriously. 'Our enforcement action has led to over £151 million in fines since 2015 and we are conducting the largest ever criminal investigation into potential widespread non-compliance by water companies at thousands of sewage treatment works. 'We're also modernising our approach to regulating the water sector, with more regulation and enforcement officers, better data and are on track to carry out 10,000 inspections this year.' A Defra spokesperson said: 'The Government inherited a broken water system. But in just one year, we have put down the building blocks to clean up England's rivers, lakes and seas. 'This is just the beginning. Next week the Independent Water Commission will come forward with its final report to rebuild a water system that is fit for Britain in the 21st century and restore our rivers, lakes and seas to good health.' A Water UK spokesperson said: 'We agree that fundamental change to regulation is needed. 'By suppressing investment, Ofwat achieved short-term cuts to people's water bills but at long-term risk to the resilience of our vital water supplies. 'This is finally being put right, with a record £104 billion investment over the next five years to secure our water supplies, end sewage entering our rivers and seas and support economic growth. 'We hope that the recommendations of the Independent Water Commission next week ensure we never again find ourselves in this position again.'
New Indian Express
2 days ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
‘Common man's issue': House panel flags Aadhaar issues, seeks review
NEW DELHI: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) headed by Congress MP K C Venugopal on Thursday called for review of the functioning of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and raised concerns over erroneous Aadhaar details, flagging that this denies people access to government benefits. 'This is a common man's issue. We flagged various problems and have raised several questions,' Venugopal told the press after the meeting. Venugopal said Aadhaar-related issues directly affect common people and require serious attention, especially those linked to biometric verification. The panel will examine the matter in detail. The committee, sources said, told the authorities to put out a circular at the earliest to inform people of the requirements to get Aadhaar and look into simplifying the process. The panel also recorded briefings from officials of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, and the UIDAI. According to sources, several MPs raised concerns of data breach, to which the UIDAI officials replied that their central repository is unbreachable. Sources said some MPs were of the view that since Aadhaar is considered residency proof and does not certify one's citizenship, authorities should reconsider if this alone should be the basis for identifying eligible beneficiaries of government welfare schemes. Only an Indian citizen should be entitled to government benefits, a source said, noting that scandals related to people with fake documents getting Aadhaar have often come to light.
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
BJP MPs express concern over non-citizens accessing Aadhaar for voter ID, passport
Some BJP members of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament are learnt to have expressed concern over what they see as instances of non-citizens procuring Aadhaar and using it to access government benefits and obtain voter ID cards. In their view, there is a need to see how such people, who obtained Aadhaar in early years when the system was less stringent, can be filtered out. The committee headed by Congress leader K C Venugopal, which is discussing the functioning of the UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India), also met Thursday. Parliamentary committee proceedings are privileged and details of exchanges between members during meetings are not made public. The BJP leaders have raised the issue at a time when the Election Commission is undertaking a special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar to ensure that ineligible persons do not get to vote. The 11 eligibility documents that those who did not feature in the 2003 electoral rolls need to furnish do not include Aadhaar, though the Supreme Court has suggested that such documents be considered for the SIR exercise. Some members, it is learnt, have pointed out instances in Bihar, Jharkhand and Karnataka of non-citizens acquiring Aadhaar and using the document to obtain other documents like voter ID cards and passports. The members have underlined that State welfare measures are meant for citizens and not foreigners. They flagged that the process of procuring Aadhaar cards was less stringent earlier, and people could enrol on the basis of a self-declaration affidavit. It is learnt that the members have expressed concern over illegal immigrants claiming scarce resources meant for citizens, becoming voters and posing a threat to national security. The CAG has flagged 4.5 lakh instances of Aadhaar duplication.
The Hindu
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
PAC calls for Aadhaar review, flags high failure rate of biometric verification
Parliament's Public Accounts Committee has called for a review of the functioning of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), flagging several concerns, including the high rate of failure of Aadhaar biometric verification which can lead to many beneficiaries being excluded from social welfare schemes. At its meeting on Thursday (July 17, 2025), the committee, headed by senior Congress leader K.C. Venugopal, received a briefing from the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) team which produced a 2021 report on the UIDAI. The panel also listened to oral evidence from officials of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, and the UIDAI itself. 'This is a common man's issue. We flagged various problems and have raised several questions,' Mr. Venugopal told reporters at the conclusion of the meeting. Changing biometrics Across party lines, MPs on the committee pointed out that biometric verification failure is a serious issue since the majority of the government's social welfare schemes are tied directly to Aadhaar. This has led to many eligible beneficiaries being prevented from recieving food rations or jobs, under schemes such as the Public Distribution System or the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, because their biometric data no longer matches the UIDAI record. The UIDAI officials, according to sources, explained that in many cases of people doing hard labour, their fingerprints are not read properly by the machines. In the case of elderly people, there is often a failure in matching iris patterns. However, the officials also insisted that the UIDAI is constantly upgrading its systems to address these challenges. Data leaks and duplicates Sources said that several MPs also cited various reports to underline the dangers of data leaks. The UIDAI officials claimed that their central repository is unbreachable, and their investigations have shown that whatever leak has been reported has come from the enrolment centres. They added that UIDAI has strengthened the monitoring mechanism to plug all holes. Some estimates suggest that there are more Aadhaar cards currently in use than the total population of the country, indicating possible duplications as well as delays in deactivating the cards of the deceased. The UIDAI officials said that in the case of the deceased, it is dependent on voluntary deactivation. The PAC directed the UIDAI to act proactively to clean up the list of Aadhaar card holders.
