September 22, 2007	Saturday	Ramazan 09, 1428

KOHAT, Sept 21: The NWFP local council board has ordered an inquiry into alleged embezzlement of millions of rupees in awarding of illegal contracts at throw away rates by the tehsil municipal administration and cancellation of one by some officials to the corruption.

An official told Dawn on Thursday that the board’s Deputy Secretary Mohammad Mansoor has appointed Jalaluddin chairman of the inquiry commission to look into complaints that a contract of loading and unloading auctioned for Rs110. 75 million had been cancelled and some officials were making the contractor a scapegoat in the scam.

Tehsil municipal administration officials allegedly secretly awarded contract of loading and unloading at the Kohat Cement Company and local fields operated by the Oil and Gas Development Company for Rs400,000 each to a relative of a union council nazim.

Later, a complaint was filed and the board ordered the auction of the two contracts which fetched Rs11.75 million and Rs1.6 million, respectively.

The board took action last month against the then Kohat tehsil municipal officer, Mohammad Younis, and made him an officer on special duty.

Tehsil Nazim Dilbar Khan, the tehsil municipal officer, revenue, Barkatullah, and the ex-TMO allegedly told the new contractor to file an application for cancellation of his contract saying that he anticipated heavy loss. The tehsil nazim immediately cancelled the contract which he had awarded for Rs400,000.

The inquiry commission has been asked to submit its report in 15 days. The officials suspected in the scam have been asked to cooperate with the inquiry team.

Local office-bearers of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam had asked Chief Minister Mohammad Akram Khan Durrani to take action against the officials involved in the auction.