ISLAMABAD – The management of National Institute of Electronics (NIE) appears to be hushing up a case against one of its employee who had allegedly purchased an old prototype Printed Circuit Board (PCB) machine worth Rs 40 million depriving national exchequer of over Rs 25 million, the present cost of the new machines being Rs 15 million.
A source in the NIE told Pakistan Today that no case had been initiated by the management for the purchase of the machine in 2009. “After the installation of the machine, the NIE director of development inspection committee had written to the project director that two exposure units which they had purchased were repainted and refurbished. He also asked officials concerned to provide the shipping invoices of all equipment in order find whether it was new or used one,” the source said.
He said the committee also asked the project director to provide the evidence of the equipment’s manufacturing date as the inspection team had found the equipment to be old.
The source said the information provided suggested that the equipment was new but another two committees also expressed serious reservations over the purchase of the machinery.
The finding of these committees suggested that the two units of UV exposure units PC-13 were old and based on technology of 1980s and their bodies had rusted.
He said that matter was also discussed by the Standing Committee of Ministry of Science and Technology in 2010. The committee had formed a sub-committee for the investigation of the matter and asked it to look into the embezzlement in the purchase of equipments by the NIE.
The sub-committee has not held even a single meeting in this regard.
