PESHAWAR: Jamaat-i-Islami leader and former MNA Maulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali has accused the high officials of Wapda of corruption by awarding contract of installation of new transmission line to an unqualified company in violation of rules and without any tender.

Speaking at a press conference at Peshawar Press Club on Friday, he alleged that the Wapda had awarded the contract of installation of power transmission line from Golen Gol hydropower station to Chukyatin Dir grid station, to a company without any tender notice.

Flanked by JI activist Engineer Fazl Rabbi from Chitral, Mr Chitrali said that according to the Wapda rules the contract should have been given to a company of C-A category. He said that the company in this case was not qualified, but it was given the contract to pave the way for corruption. He sought action against all those responsible for the matter.

He claimed that while giving the contract the project cost stood at Rs3.2 billion, which later on was increased to over Rs5 billion, but despite that the company was installing 220 kilowatt transmission line instead of 440 kilowatt.

The former MNA also lamented that in certain localities of the district the transmission line was passing over the residential areas that could cause diseases among the people.

He demanded supply of 30 megawatt electricity as royalty to the people of Chitral district as their constitutional right, and threatened to launch a protest movement against the government if their demand was not accepted.

Published in Dawn January 14th, 2017