Two suspended on corruption charges

ISLAMABAD - The Ministry of Housing and Works has suspended two employees - Superintendent Engineer (SE) and XEN - of Pak-PWD and has recommended Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani to take disciplinary action against Chief Engineer South who awarded Rs 9.5 million projects of electric works without advertising tender. In due course upon the directions of Federal Minister for Housing and Works Makhdoom Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat, Secretary H&W Kamran Lashari suspended SE Fadayat Hussain Shah and one XEN Suhash Chandar. The secretary has also recommended Prime Minister Gilani to take disciplinary action against Chief Engineer (South) Pak-PWD Atta-ul-Haq Akhtar. The action against the said officers was taken in the light of fact-finding report, which proved that aforementioned officers were involved in serious financial misconduct by committing several financial irregularities while executing electric work at Statistical Division building. Chief Engineer Atta-ul-Haq Akhtar has been made OSD. The secretary has also ordered initiation of formal inquiry and action against the said officers under Government Servants (Efficiency and Discipline) Rules, 1973. The federal minister had ordered probe into the matter and the inquiry conducted by two senior officers of the National Construction - a subsidiary of the housing ministry - revealed that Akhtar, in the capacity of SE Pak-PWD Islamabad, had awarded two projects of electric work collectively worth Rs 9.5 million without advertising tenders in newspapers in March this year. According to detail at the Pak-PWD website, the date of opening tenders was March 13, 2011 but he opened tenders ten days prior on March 3, 2011. With connivance of a private contractor, Atta recommended awarding of project to illegally selected lowest bidder to the then Chief Engineer (North) Pak-PWD Gulab Zameer. Zameer not only rejected Akhtars recommendation but also ordered inquiry into irregularities committed by SE Atta-ul-Haq in handling the affair, says the fact-finding report. The fact-finding report says, Meanwhile Gulab Zameer was transferred and Atta-ul-Haq Akhtar was promoted to the position of Chief Engineer (North) Pak-PWD and he again, misusing his powers, awarded contract to his 'favourite contractor without giving advertisement of tenders in newspapers while it was mandatory under PPRA rules. The inquiry officers found that value of two projects was Rs 6 million and 3.5 million respectively. According to PPRA rules, it is mandatory to advertise tenders of the projects worth above Rs 2 million in newspapers. Atta-ul-Haq and other two officers of Pak-PWD including Fadayat Hussain Shah and Subash Chandar also embezzled call-deposits Rs 0.6 million each of two bidders namely M Z Awan & Sons and Noor & Sons, the report adds. Earlier, the ministry suspended, a few weeks ago, two senior officers of Pakistan Public Works Department (Pak-PWD) on the charges of irregularities committed in the construction of new office blocks in Pak-Secretariat including Kifayat Ullah, Superintending Engineer, and Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Executive Engineer. The ministry in June this year suspended two XENs including Fayyaz Muhammad, XEN, Pak-PWD Multan and Rana Saleem Akhtar, XEN, Pak-PWD, Lahore, and a Chief Engineer Mian Masood Akhtar, Pak-PWD, Lahore, after finding sufficient material evidence in the probe regarding corruption in the construction of bridge at Mal-Fatyana on Ravi River, Kamalia-Harrapa Road.