MUZAFFARABAD: The AJK Ehtesab Bureau on Tuesday apprehended two fishing contractors of Mangla dam allegedly for inflicting loss of Rs96.9 million on the state exchequer.

The arrests of Raja Mohammed Arshad and Munshi Mohammed Nazir were made in Mirpur in the light of a reference (complaint) filed by the AJK government in the bureau.

Both were remanded by an Ehtesab Court judge in the custody of bureau’s investigation cell for one week.

According to details, the AJK fisheries department got fishing rights in Mangla reservoir in accordance with an agreement signed between the AJK government and Wapda in 2003 ahead of Mangla raising project.

Since then, Mr Arshad had been securing the contract of fishing in the lake.

However, in September 2013, as Mr Arshad owed Rs5.9 million to the fisheries department in previous liabilities, he fielded his employee Munshi Nazir to clinch the three-year contract in an open auction against Rs161.2 million.

Later, Mr Arshad obtained power of attorney from Mr Nazir to operate the contract.

According to a statement by Ehtesab Bureau spokesman Yasir Arafat, the fisheries department did not fulfil the relevant requirements at the time of award of contract in September 2013.

Nevertheless, the spokesman said, fisheries department director issued fishing licence number one for 2013-14 in the name of Mr Nazir on Sept 13, 2013.

The spokesman said that the department again issued licence for 2015-16 to the contractor despite the fact he had not cleared his previous liabilities, and outstanding dues against him stood at Rs96.94 million.

In October 2015 the contractor submitted a Rs100 million bank guarantee in lieu of his entire liabilities until the end of contract in August 2016, which turned out to be “fake and fabricated” when deposited by the fisheries department in Bank of AJK for encashment in June this year.

Mr Arafat maintained that the bank guarantee was “not only accepted by the fisheries department (at the time of submission) but was also made part of the official record, and hence exchequer was subjected to huge loss.”

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2016