LAHORE: Punjab Saaf Pani Company’s Manager Malik Waris has been arrested on Tuesday for being allegedly involved in the corruption case of Rs 80 million in Punjab Saaf Paani project.
Punjab Anti-Corruption team raided Malik Waris’s office situated at M.M Alam Road and arrested him on the spot. Malik was accused of embezzling millions of rupees allotted to his company for the clean water project, according to an official of the anti-corruption.
Following the reports of corruption in a local media outlet, the Punjab government had deactivated ten public listed companies.
The companies on the deactivation list include the Environmental Managment Company Faisalabad, Punjab Coal Power Company, Renewable Energy Company Limited, Working Endowment Fund, Punjab Culture and Outreach Company, Quaid-e-Azam Hydel Power Company, Punjab Road Infrastructure Company, Punjab Saaf Pani Company, Technical and Vocational Management Company.
Punjab Law Minister, Rana Sanaullah claimed that Punjab government had achieved targets after formation of companies while the action was being taken against reports of corruption. “Public money worth Rs 291 billion has been saved by Punjab Government in 14 major projects”.
However, he had denied a private news channel’s report about his acceptance of corruption in the Punjab Saaf Paani project and threatened to take the matter to courts.
Rana Sanaullah had earlier claimed that the chief minister had also constituted a committee to ascertain the facts in this regard, adding that there was no corruption at the government level and there was zero tolerance policy against corruption in the provincial administration.
Punjab Finance Minister Ayesha Ghaus Pasha had stated that the audit of 17 companies, under scrutiny, was complete and the auditor general’s report would only be submitted to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on demand.