MARDAN: An audit report has revealed financial irregularities in the Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA) of Mardan, where rent amounting to Rs25.167 million from municipal shops remained uncollected during the fiscal year 2023-24.
The anomaly surfaced during an audit conducted under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa TMA Budget Rules, 2016. The audit identified non-compliance in the assessment and recovery of rents, attributing the lapse to the Tehsil Officer (Regulation), which resulted in substantial revenue loss to the public exchequer.
According to the report, the outstanding rents pertained to shops located in key areas, including MC Plaza, General Bus Stand, Gaju Khan Shops, and City Shopping Centre. The largest share of unpaid dues was recorded at the General Bus Stand and Gaju Khan markets.
The audit report highlighted that the failure to recover rents was primarily due to weak internal controls and poor financial management within the department.It further noted that despite formally notifying the management in November 2024, no response was received before the audit was finalized.
Additionally, auditors observed that a meeting of the Departmental Accounts Committee (DAC) could not be convened despite repeated requests, terming it a sign of administrative inefficiency.
The report also pointed out that this was not the first instance of such irregularities in the institution. A similar issue was reported last year, when rents worth Rs3.892 million remained unrecovered. Auditors described the recurrence as “a matter of serious concern.”The audit recommended immediate recovery of outstanding dues from tenants and urged authorities to implement corrective measures to prevent such lapses in the future.
