HYDERABAD:
The Sindh Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee has referred a corruption reference against Mustafa Bilal, Chairman Town Municipal Corporation (TMC) Mian Sarfaraz in Hyderabad, to Sindh Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE).
PAC Chairman Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, who conducted a hearing of the TMC in Karachi on Tuesday, also directed Sindh Secretary Local Government to initiate an inquiry over allegations that Bilal violated the law by single-handedly passing the budget for fiscal 2024-25.
Embezzlement of the public funds, illegal expenditures and other irregularities are among the allegations which have been levelled against the TCM’s chairman who has been accused for singularly approving the TMC’s budget of over Rs1 billion. He is also being blamed for continuously withdrawing funds from the Octroi Zilla Tax head without obtaining signatures of the town municipal commissioner. TMC Miaz Sarfaraz is one of the nine TMC which work under the Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (HMC).
The vice chairman accused the corporation’s chairman for corruption, misappropriation of funds and for passing the budget without calling the due meeting of the corporation’s council.
The vice chairman of Union Committee (UC) 24 blamed Bilal for holding meetings of the council occasionally to fulfill the formalities without engaging the council in constructive works. “He sends extortion receipts of Rs400 to all shopkeepers,” he alleged. The vice chairmen of UC 20 and UC 21 charged the chairman for completely failing to undertake development works.
Many of the vice chairman during the hearing demanded a forensic audit of the TMC’s revenues and expenditures. Khuhro inquired Bilal to share details about monthly income and expenditures of the corporation. The PAC’s chairman was briefed that the TMC received Rs18 million monthly from the OZT share and that Rs13 million of that fund is spent on the salaries.
