Financial irregularities worth millions emerge in 'Greater Iqbal Park project'

LAHORE: Following an audit report submitted to the Punjab Assembly, major financial irregularities in the construction of Greater Iqbal Park has come to light, ARY News reported on Sunday.

The audit report highlights serious variants in the project’s management, revealing that over Rs 21.98 million was spent on unnecessary items.

The report also points out that Rs 107 million were distributed to employees of the National History Museum without proper records, raising concerns about transparency in salary disbursements.

Moreover, the Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) reportedly lost Rs 106.4 million due to a poorly managed contract with the National Museum.

In addition to these discrepancies, the report states that expenditure records for more than Rs 80 million were not provided during the audit, making it difficult to verify how the funds were spent.

Furthermore, more than Rs 10 million was spent on violating regulations related to the opening of Greater Iqbal Park.

Most notably, the park administration is accused of illegally providing advances amounting to over Rs 205 million to private firms, without proper authorization or documentation.

The findings have raised serious questions about the performance of Punjab governance and financial oversight of the project.

These revelations have sparked public concern, with calls for further investigation and accountability.

The Punjab government is expected to take action against those responsible for the mismanagement of funds, as pressure mounts for a transparent review of the project.