Daily Times

LAHORE: Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar Sunday remarked that nepotism and corruption will not be permitted in the country as long as the present judiciary is here.

Hearing the Punjab Saaf Pani Company case here at the Lahore Registry, the chief justice observed that everyone will be held accountable and every penny of the people will be returned to the national kitty. Referring to the hiring of individuals from the private sector as well as foreign experts in the public organisation, he remarked that those who made the recruitment will have to return the money from their own pockets.

The court ruled that all officers of such companies will get the salaries as government officials in the same scale were drawing.

The apex court questioned the inclusion of provincial minister Zaeem Qadri’s brother and wife in the company’s board of directors. “So much was spent on public advertisements but nothing was done on the ground,” the chief justice remarked.

Appearing before the court, the company’s former CEO, Waseem Ajmal, said that Punjab chief minister directed the replacement of local experts with foreigners, adding that the provincial chief executive was not even legally permitted to give directions to the company.

The court has summoned the National Accountability Bureau’s prosecutor general on April 14 to look into the case.

On Saturday, the chief justice had given a day to the Punjab Saaf Pani Company chief executive officer (CEO) and the provincial government to submit the complete record, including salaries, perks and privileges of the entire staff and vehicles provided to them to perform their duties.

The chief justice had expressed displeasure at the hefty amount being paid to foreign consultants engaged for the Punjab Saaf Pani Company. “Who are these consultants and for what purpose they have been hired,” the chief justice asked company CEO Capt (r) Usman.

Services of foreign consultants had been engaged for the examination of soil water in all 55 tehsils of the province, Usman said in his reply. “Don’t we have any local talent to perform this simple work?” the chief justice asked and observed that students of chemistry could do such analysis of the water.

When asked by the court, Usman said Rs 300 million had been spent on the services of foreign consultants so far. He said an estimated amount of Rs 150 billion had been allocated for the whole project while 116 plants of clean water installed at a cost of Rs 4 billion. To another query, the CEO said he was drawing Rs 1.45m as salary inclusive of all other allowances.

Published in Daily Times, April 9^th 2018.