Provincial Ombudsman orders to pay profit on GP Fund to govt employees

Lahore: Provincial Ombudsman Khalid Mehmood has ordered payment of the profit on the amounts of the of government employees for the period they remain in the national exchequer. He directed Accountant General Punjab and Punjab government to issue clear directions to District Accounts Officers to make payments to the government employees including the profit of that period in case of delay in payment so that District Accounts offices should not be able to exploit the employees.

According to details, a retired senior headmaster of Gujranwala, Fateh Muhammad submitted an application to Ombudsman Punjab that he was retired in 2006 but payment of GP Fund was made to him in 2009. At this, when he requested District Accounts Office Gujranwala for the profit of three years on the amount of GP Fund, he was refused. Ombudsman Punjab Khalid Mehmood ordered Consultant Ombudsman Punjab office, Wazir Ahmed Qureshi to look into the matter. When Wazir Ahmed Qureshi inquired from the applicant, Accountant General Punjab and District Accounts Officer Gujranwala, it was revealed that heavy amounts of GP Fund of the government employees remain in the national exchequer but at the time of payment, instead of giving profit for the period of delay, they are given profit of only upto six months after their retirement.

In his decision, Ombudsman Punjab also referred to four notifications issued by federal government and the Punjab government in this regard in which the right of profit on the total amount to the concerned government servant has been granted in case of delayed payment of GP Fund but Accountant General Punjab and District Account Officers are violating all these notifications. Ombudsman Punjab directed Accountant General Punjab to immediately pay the profit on the amount of GP fund upto 2009 to Senior Headmaster Fateh Muhammad who retired in 2006 and inform the Ombudsman office.