ISLAMABAD: A Senate committee felt so disgusted probing the dirty washrooms in the Parliament House on Monday that it suggested to the CDA to suspend its officer looking after the august house and the parliament lodges.

“Just tell me why the washrooms are so unclean?” Federal Minister Senator Abbas Khan Afridi shot the question to the CDA’s Director Parliament House, Mashooq Ali, as the sub-committee of the Senate Finance Committee listened to a lengthy CDA briefing on its maintenance work.

“It is a shame that we (Senators) are engaged in inquiring such trivial matters as to why the washrooms have no soap, or toilet paper or what not,” said the minister, not satisfied with the long presentation made by the CDA officials on the care they provide to the buildings.

In fact, the sub-committee mildly accused the CDA of improper use of the budget given for proper maintenance of the parliament building and lodges.

Director Mashooq Ali, however, invited trouble by informing the sub-committee that all washrooms are cleaned on hourly basis and every day a new cake of soap is placed there.

Sen Afridi, who is Minister for Textiles Industry, did not believe him. So chairman of the sub-committee, Senator Mushahid Hussain, directed a Senate employee to check all the washrooms on the first floor of the Parliament House and report back.

His report contradicted the CDA official’s claim.

It then fell upon Member Finance of the CDA, Arbab Sher Bahadur, to explain that the civic body’s ‘operational budget’ was not sufficient to cover all such expenditures.

“Can we not afford expenditures on soap and tissue rolls!” asked the chairman in surprise.

Senator Mushahid Hussain announced that the committee recommends that the CDA director for the parliament buildings be suspended for concealing facts, and not abiding by the directives of the senate committee.

Secretary Senate Secretariat, Dr Pervaiz Abbas was told to convey the decision to the CDA Chairman and respond to the case made by the CDA member finance for “at least 100 per cent increase” in the budget for the desired quality of cleanliness in the parliament house.

Dr Pervaiz, however, felt the CDA was a financially mismanaged entity. “The operational budget of the Parliament House is Rs126 million per annum and the estimated utility bill is some Rs61 million,” he noted.

“So how is it that the CDA paid Rs124 million from its pocket for electricity bill of Parliament House?” the Senate Secretariat official wanted to know.

He said the CDA allocated only Rs50,000 per annum for contingency which is incorrect as it should be at least 10 per cent of the operational budget.

“It is not our fault if the finance ministry releases the annual budget in instalments of 20 per cent per quarter for nine months and the remaining 40 per cent in the last quarter,” Dr Pervaiz said. “Only if the budget is not released, should the Senate Secretariat be told.”

Thus what started as a work ethics issue ended as a financial issue, is to be taken up by the sub-committee in the third week of January in presence of the CDA member.

Published in Dawn, January 13th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play