ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has obtained records from the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to launch a probe into an alleged multi-billion quotation scam.
Last year, the CDA formed two committees to investigate the matter, but progress was minimal. However, the FIA has recently taken up the case for investigation.
During the PTI government, various directorates of the CDA carried out projects worth billions of rupees by bypassing the tendering process.
The CDA has now provided the quotation records of the Road Maintenance and Environment directorates to the FIA after receiving approval from the competent authority.
CDA’s spokesperson confirmed their cooperation with the FIA and stated that the investigation is underway.
An official from the CDA expressed hope that the individuals involved in the alleged mega scam would face severe consequences now that the FIA is handling the case.
Under the quotation system, the CDA is allowed to undertake emergency work without floating tenders, as long as the cost does not exceed Rs. 500,000.
However, several directorates of the CDA, including Road and Market Maintenance, Machinery Pool Organization (MPO), Environment, Water and Sanitation, and Sports, violated regulations by opting for quotations instead of open auctions for their projects.
The scale of the scam is significant, with estimates suggesting that over Rs. 20 billion worth of work was carried out through quotations.
Moreover, there are also allegations of manipulated payments for several projects.
The former chairman of the CDA had taken notice of the issue and issued warnings to adhere to the tendering process, but some directors ignored the directives and continued with the quotation practices.
besides, calls have been made to expand the investigation’s scope and collect records from all directorates to identify those involved in the scam.
The details suggest that various unnecessary projects, such as walking tracks and works along nullahs, were allegedly carried out using the quotation system.
Additionally, several humps constructed on roads have also become problematic for motorists as they contribute to water accumulation during rainfall.
Source: DAWN
