Railway land scam

Pildat welcomes effective oversight by NA committee

ISLAMABAD, October 5, 2010: Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (Pildat) has appreciated the hard work and bold stand taken by the 21-member National Assembly Special Committee on Railways regarding the 2001 contract allotting 141 acres of railway land to the Royal Palm Golf and Country Club allegedly on nominal prices.

It stated that the report of the committee led by PPP MNA Nadeem Afzal Gondal had rightly asserted the legitimate oversight role of the parliament while declaring that the contract was ‘achieved through deceit, deception, fraud, cheating and misrepresentation.’

Pildat further said that the committee’s report would go a long way in enhancing the image and prestige of the parliament and consolidating the parliamentary sovereignty.

It hoped that the performance of the committee would set an example for other parliamentary committees to undertake effective oversight of the executive.

It also hoped that the government of Pakistan would earnestly implement the recommendations of the special committee.

The report of the committee submitted to the National Assembly on October 1, 2010, had called for legal proceedings against the former railway minister, two ex-secretaries and chairmen of railways and an ex-general manager. The report had also recommended prosecution of five members of the railway executive committee that approved the contract -- along with confiscation and auction of properties of two of them to recover losses to the national exchequer caused by their conduct -- and ‘bring to justice’ three members of another committee that examined the pre-qualification criteria for bidding.