- PAC directs CDA for fresh bidding to award contract of diplomatic shuttle service
Fearing a fraud of over Rs 30 billion – the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Thursday directed the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to stop the construction of multi-storey towers at Constitution Avenue adjacent to Convention Centre.
PAC Chairman Khurshid Shah referred the security hazardous, multi-storey building (adjacent to diplomatic enclave) case to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) with the direction to probe and detect the real players behind such a dubious deal.
The CDA has been directed to seek soil-testing report of towers from the Pakistan Engineering Council as the contractor has unilaterally constructed 23 storeys instead of permitted 13 stories.
PAC ordered action by Friday – against the officials of CDA, who inked the deal. A case would be registered against then CDA member estate Rehman Gilani.
PAC was told that the agreement had been inked with Ms BNP of Faisalabad, who got possession of 13.5 acres of land by paying just 23 percent of total payable of Rs 4.88 billion. As per agreement, the winning party has to pay 15 percent in first 45 days and 85 percent in fifteen installments. The party had paid only Rs 977 million and got the possession of the plot in 2007.A total of three towers were to be constructed. The contractor managed rescheduling in 2007 with the approval of then Economic Coordination Council (ECC).
BNP got a loan of 1.6288 billion from Bank of Punjab (BOP) and did not return the loan to the bank. The case was being pursued by National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Rawalpindi. NAB had recovered Rs 170 million from the contractor. Right now the contractor has got stay orders from the high court.
Shah said the contractor has already received from Rs 10 to Rs 12 billion from the people as almost all of the flats have been sold out. PAC directed the CDA to initiate fresh bidding process for awarding transparent contract of diplomatic shuttle service as blatant anomalies have been detected in the existing contract.
PAC expressed astonishment that the contractor was paying only Rs 44,000 per annum to the CDA of the shuttle service plus lease of 4.5 acres of land. PAC directed the civic authority to recover market price from the contractor right from 2008 as he is charging Rs 200 per passenger and paying only nominal to the CDA.
PAC sought report from National Accountability Bureau that on what grounds it had cleared the (dubious) deal between CDA and Ms Mohammad Hussain, the contractor of Diplomatic Shuttle Service in past.
PAC was informed that the seven-year agreement of shuttle service was signed in 2008 and is further extendable for seven years after its completion in 2015.
The committee was informed that the original file of the contract has been lost. The CDA had ordered inquiry to fix the responsibility of the responsible of file lost but unfortunately the file of inquiry was also lost.
Shah ordered the CDA to seal the record room of the civic authority and directed NAB, FIA to probe the missing file case. PAC also directed issuing show cause notice to then members of CDA board and report to PAC within a fortnight.
A three-member sub-committee of PAC was formed with the mandate to report how many people travel in diplomatic shuttle service per day so that the exact earnings of the shuttle service contractor could be determined.
Junaid Anwar Chaudhry, a member of PAC, observed that absence of sense of responsibility and political interference had destroyed the CDA. PAC ordered cabinet secretary to submit restructuring plan of CDA to PAC within three months.
PAC meeting was chaired by Khurshid Shah. Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, Syed Nazim Ali Shah, Rana Afzaal Hussain, Sardar Ashiq Gopang, Dr Arif Alvi, Shahida Akhtar Ali, Raja Javed Ikhlas and Junaid Anwaar Chaudhry attended the meeting.
PAC directed CDA to recover outstanding amount of cost of land and construction of additional 12 stories sans any payment from Gulf Construction Company, the owners of Centaurus Shopping Mall, within 30 days. The utility services to Centaurus Mall should be exterminated in case of non-payment of outstanding amount. The mall must not be issued completion report without recovering the outstanding amount.
The CDA was also directed to arrange structure assessment of Centaurus and report the committee within a month. The rescheduling of payment plan report of the mall should be submitted by Monday.
Shah directed NAB to share details of their cases report/recovery to PAC also persistently.