Daily Times

In a startling development, a scandal of manipulation and illegalities in award of contract for distribution of rate lists of Islamabad fruit and vegetable market has come to surface.

It has been revealed that contract for distribution of rate of the federal capital’s vegetable market has been widely manipulated and the contract has been awarded to the same contractor for many years.

According to official records, an advertisement was given in newspapers for the distribution of rate list among all the business centers and vendors of Islamabad. In response to the advertisement, four companies applied and one of them was awarded the contract through manipulation by the officials concerned.

One of the bidders named Ali Shan gave a bid of Rs 615,000 but officials concerned allegedly declared him ineligible for bidding for lack of NTN certificate in the bid documents, sources told Daily Times. Subsequently, another bidder named Yasir Zaman was awarded the contract for only Rs 225,000, allegedly causing a loss of Rs 5 million to the national exchequer.

It is interesting to note that Deputy Director Agriculture Ghafran Shahzad Bajwa has been clinging to the same position for the last 10 years and plays big role in all types of vegetable contracts. It is also noteworthy that the contract of vegetable and fruit market is being awarded to the same person continuously under different company names.

Sources said that as per modus operandi, the bid for any contract is taken so high that many of the bidders get out of race for the contract. Later on, the winner of the bid defaults himself and surrenders the initial deposited amount which is a few thousand rupees. Later on, the market committee offers the same contract to the second or third bidder.

One of the bidders named Ali Shan has lodged a complaint with DG ICT Saeed Ramzan and informed that his NTN certificate was deliberately removed by the official concerned from the bid documents to expel him out of the competition. DG Saeed Ramzan has started an investigation into the matter.

When contacted, DG Saeed Ramzan told daily Times, “I have received the complaint and we are examining all the aspects. The report of whoever is found guilty will be submitted to the Chief Commissioner.”