LAHORE: The Housing Department has decided to conduct a special examination of the financial and administrative affairs of the Punjab Housing and Town Planning Agency (PHATA) to curb corruption and violations of merit in the province.
On the directions of the Secretary Housing, along with an audit of PHATA for the financial year 2025-26, a special fact-finding committee has been constituted to investigate alleged irregularities, unauthorised changes and financial losses. A notification to this effect has also been issued.
The committee will carry out a detailed examination of PHATA’s financial matters, land use and issues relating to land-use planning. The conversion of agricultural land for commercial and other purposes, land-use conversion fees, recovery and the record of penalties will also be audited.
According to the notification, PHATA directorates established at all divisional headquarters will also be audited, while implementation of laws, rules and regulations within the organisation will be reviewed. The committee will also examine transparency and adherence to rules in financial and administrative matters.
The fact-finding committee will be headed by Additional Secretary Housing Department Khurram Shahzad, while Director Estate Management PHATA Amir Raza will be a member of the committee. A special representative of the Board of Revenue will also be included in the committee.
After completing the audit and detailed examination, the committee will submit its recommendations and report to the relevant authorities. According to the Secretary Housing, implementation of the Punjab Chief Minister’s “Corruption Free Punjab Policy” will be ensured.
The audit follows Punjab’s repeal of decades-old land administration laws, and comes amid calls from political parties for stronger local governments and new administrative units.
PHATA is the provincial regulator responsible for approving private housing schemes outside the jurisdiction of development authorities and cantonment boards, covering a very large share of Punjab’s land area. Its approvals determine whether a scheme can legally market plots, and its land-use conversion decisions determine whether agricultural land can be brought into the urban property market.
That regulatory position makes the agency’s fee, recovery and penalty records unusually consequential. Conversion of agricultural land to commercial use typically attracts a substantial one-time fee calculated against the valuation table for the area, and under-assessment or non-recovery of that fee is both a direct revenue loss to the province and an indirect subsidy to the developer.
For buyers, the practical significance of the audit lies in the record of approvals and penalties. Punjab’s property market has for years carried the recurring problem of schemes marketed on the strength of partial or lapsed approvals, with purchasers discovering only at the possession stage that layout plans were never sanctioned or that penalties for unauthorised development remain unpaid.
Prospective buyers are generally advised to verify a scheme’s approval status directly with the competent authority — PHATA, the relevant development authority, or the local government — before making any payment, and to confirm that the land-use of the parcel matches the use being marketed.
The Housing Department’s decision to extend the audit to divisional directorates, rather than limiting it to the head office, suggests the review is intended to test consistency of practice across the province rather than to examine individual files at the centre.
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