October 25, 2003	Saturday	Sha’aban 28, 1424

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SARGODHA, Oct 24: The Citizen Forum chairman, Maulana Manzoor Husain, has alleged that corruption is going on unchecked at the tehsil municipal administration.

He said a special grant of Rs100 million, announced by the Punjab chief minister during his visit here some time ago, would be misused by the TMA’s corrupt mafia, which was obliging its favourites in awarding contracts.

The time of receiving tenders is 2pm, but some the officials have extended it up to 12.30 at night allegedly to facilitate some of the contractors.

When contacted, public health executive engineer Wasif Qureshi said the duration had been extended to facilitate all the contractors. He claimed the contracts would be given according to the rules and the government instructions.

He denied the charges of a contractor, Muhammad Rafi, who alleged that the XEN and his subordinates were forcing the contractors to submit blank tenders with signatures, and they (the TMA staff) would fill the amounts.

He also alleged that time for submission of tenders had been extended to facilitate the favourites. He said he had repeatedly asked the XEN to receive the sealed tenders from the contractors and open these before the public, but he had refused to do so.

“According to the XEN, 400 tenders for various works have been received. But, actually the number of enrolled contractors is not more than 150, which is astonishing,” he said.

A contractor told this correspondent that the government had not revised rates of construction for the last year, and for this purpose to get their legitimate profit all the contractors had to cooperate with each other.

When officials of buildings and other departments involved in carrying out development works were asked about it, they claimed that there was no such practice of prolonging the receipt of tenders.

It is also learnt that works, which have been carried out by the TMA officials, are distributed among the contractors late at night with the connivance of the tehsil council members, as a majority of them have got enlisted their close relatives and friends only to get the development projects.

The XEN didn’t also deposit the tender fee with bank according to schedule, said the Maulana, who demanded that the chief minister ordered an inquiry into the corruption charges.

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