LAHORE:A major corruption scandal involving millions of rupees has been uncovered in the E-Registration Branch of Revenue Department's Gulberg Town office in provincial capital.
According to documents available with The News, Member of Taxes Tariq Zaman Wattoo has referred the case to the Punjab Anti-Corruption Department for further investigation, with legal actions expected against former registry clerks and sub-registrars.
A special audit conducted by the Board of Revenue revealed that registry clerks and sub-registrars, at various times, confirmed under-valued registrations, causing a loss of millions to the treasury. Instead of being penalised, these officials were promoted to more lucrative positions. The audit report specifically highlighted a loss of Rs40 million in stamp duty during the tenure of former sub-registrar of Gulberg Town Usman Akram, who remains in the same position.
Similarly, a shortfall of Rs5.6 million was noted during the tenure of former sub-registrar of Nishtar Zone Zahoor Hussain, who has since been promoted to Additional Deputy Commissioner General. A Rs8 million deficit was identified during Anser Ali's tenure as sub-registrar of Nishtar Zone, leading to his transfer to Nishtar Town.
Additionally, former sub-registrar of Gulberg Town Shafiq Chishti registered a gift deed in which a two-storey house was misrepresented as a plot, causing a loss of Rs12.5 million in construction fees to the national treasury.
A letter from the Board of Revenue to the Deputy Commissioner of Lahore revealed that registry clerks M Ramzan, Zahid Mustafa, Zulqarnain, Dr Amir, Altaf Wattoo and Raja Nadeem collectively deprived the national treasury of Rs200 million in stamp duty revenue. Junior clerk M Ramzan, who served in the Gulberg Town registration branch for an extended period, was particularly implicated in large-scale embezzlement, repeatedly reassigned to the same branch due to political influence despite his involvement in fee discrepancies.
Former Senior Member of the Board of Revenue Punjab Babar Hayat Tarar had previously prohibited the appointment of any registry clerk involved in fee discrepancies, a directive that was ignored.
The spokesperson for the DG Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) Punjab confirmed that ACE has received the report. After a thorough investigation, an FIR will be lodged and efforts will be made to recover the embezzled funds and take legal action against the responsible officers and employees.
According to spokesperson to the Deputy Commissioner Lahore Hafiz Qaisar Abbas, immediate action has been taken by the DC following reports of misconduct and inefficiency among officials. Upholding the policy of zero tolerance against corruption, the DC office has taken decisive steps. Five junior clerks, namely M Ramzan (DEO-1), Raja Nadeem (DEO-1), Altaf Gohar, M Amir (DEO-1) and M Zulqarnain have been suspended on administrative grounds for their involvement in misconduct and inefficiency. The action against lower-ranking officials has been swiftly implemented while the decisions regarding registrars, who are Provincial Management Service (PMS) officers, will be made by the Services and General Administration Department (S&GAD). The DC office does not have the authority to determine the fate of PMS officers.
Furthermore, Deputy Commissioner Rafia Haider has directed an inquiry against the suspended officials under Section 5(b) of the Punjab Employees Efficiency, Discipline and Accountability Act 2006. The General Assistant (Revenue-1) has been appointed as the inquiry officer and is directed to submit a report within the stipulated time. The accused officials are also required to submit their defence within 14 days.