Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Thursday termed the payment of Rs 480 billion to power-generating companies under the circular debt as illegal and directed the water and power secretary to conduct an audit for productive capability of private power companies and ensure the return of billions of rupees to the national exchequer.

The PAC met on Thursday under the chairmanship of National Assembly opposition leader Khursheed Shah. The auditor general of Pakistan (AGP) informed the meeting that the payment of Rs 980 billion under the circular debt by the existing PML-N government was a mega corruption. He said the government should have got an audit done of power companies before paying Rs 480 billion, but it made the payment in violation of the rules and regulations.

In his report the AGP report said that the payment of Rs 342 billion to PEPCO was illegal because the audit was necessary prior to the payment, but the government did not fulfill this responsibility. He added that payment of Rs 32 billion to a company as delayed payment was ridiculous and should be probed. “The government has transacted Rs 25 billion from the national exchequer as non-payment cash and payment of this amount was also illegal. The government neither receives the dues of these power companies which were approximately Rs 23 billion nor formulates any policy in this regard,” the AGP said.

He added that the government had paid Rs 270 million illegally to these power companies as payment of withholding tax. The AGP informed the PAC meeting that the PML-N government has paid Rs 33 billion to the power companies that have stopped generating electricity since the last many years and their productivity was zero. He further said that approximately Rs 28 billion have been paid to these companies illegally for electricity generation through gas. The report says that Rs 18.50 billion have been paid in surplus to these power companies under the head of general sales tax (GST).

According to report, approximately Rs 2.42 have been paid surplus to NPGCL Company. The government has paid surplus amount of Rs 270 million to these companies on the basis of Open Cycle Cast.