Daily Times

PESHAWAR: Former KP chief minister Amir Haider Khan Hoti is facing a fresh wave of corruption investigation into alleged embezzlements in various development projects in district Mardan, Daily Times has learned.

The inquiries have been initiated after Shamsi-bridge in Mardan, which cost millions of rupee from the provincial exchequer, cracked and closed for public transport. The standing committee of the provincial assembly hold inquiry after it visited the bridge along with a team of technical experts to examine the bridge and its cause of early damages.

The committee found use of sub standard material in the construction of the main bridge. At length, the committee also initiated identical inquiry with systematic scrutiny of four other development schemes where sub standard material was used.

The name of the schemes including Takkar to Hadi Kali (village) Road, Baghdada to Gojar Ghari Road, Government Girls School Sherdil Khan Kali and Government High Schools Gojar Ghari.

According to the source the estimated cost of these five schemes was Rs 40 million, however, none of the scheme was now in the condition to be used.

The schemes as per the reports of the committee required more than Rs 20 million to be repaired otherwise it could cause human loss if collapsed due sub standard material.

Chairman Standing Committee on Communication and Works (C&W) told this scribe that directives have been issued to investigate the firms and construction companies involved in using sub standard materials in the said schemes. He said that all of them would black-listed soon after committee complete its inquiry report.

Iftikhar Mashvani lashed out Awami National Party (ANP) provincial president and former chief minister Amir Haider Hoti, who served his family members and party workers on the name development projects.

He said that the calamity of the Amir Haider Khan Hoti could be judged by the move that millions of grant has been issued to mosques through its party workers with fake names.

He said that recently an inquiry team has found major irregularities in grants paid by Amir Haider Khan Hoti for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the mosques in different union councils of Mardan.

He said that list of the mosques, which had received grant in ANP government had prepared by the standing committee and have been shared with Deputy Commissioner (DC) but astonishingly most of the grant issued used fake names of the mosques.

“Mosques of the different Union Councils of district Mardan received grants ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 200,000 in the government record, but hardly one third would have been rehabilitated or reconstructed when it was visited by the Deputy Commissioner Mardan investigation team” the MPA added.

On the condition of anonymity, a member of the Standing Committee told this scribe that government money was showered by then chief minister over its own political party workers by setting up Hurjas for their blue eyed party workers on the name social center at different UCs of the district.

He said that District Advisory Development Committee (DADC) of Mardan has received hundreds of public complaints pointed out the location where the Hujras have been constructed.