March, 20 2005	Sunday	09 Safar 1426

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window).

ISLAMABAD, March 19: The government sought time during the National Assembly’s question hour on Friday to answer the opposition’s queries relating to Rs140 million scandals in the National Database and Registration Authority and the population welfare ministry. Parliamentary Secretary for Population Welfare Doniya Aziz was the first to be surprised by People’s Party Parliamentarians MNA Sherry Rehman when the opposition MNA pointed out that the ministry favoured certain media agencies to the tune of Rs47 million without carrying out any impact assessment of campaigns carried out by them. Ms Aziz sought time to answer the question. Official documents reveal the population welfare ministry paid Rs47.8 million to four advertising companies for undertaking media campaign for population planning. The agreement signed with the companies stipulated impact assessment of the campaign after a year by an independent research agency. It stipulated that the ministry had to appoint the research agency at the cost of the media companies. The documents show that the ministry extended the contracts of the advertising agencies for a year without undertaking the assessment of the campaigns.

After a government department pointed out the favour, the ministry requested the Quaid-i-Azam University to undertake the evaluation, which is yet to be made public.

The PPP MNA also asked State Minister for Interior Dr Shahzad Waseem to explain why Nadra overpaid Rs92.71 million to a private company on account of data entry of Urdu national data forms.

The minister requested a fresh question to be submitted so that he could check the details and answer it.

However, details obtained by this correspondent show that Nadra made excess payment of Rs92 million to the JBL Private Limited as cost for data entry of 62.2 million national data forms whereas 52.76 million forms were entered.