FAISALABAD: Building inspectors are getting bribe to approve the private housing colonies maps and corruption is also rampant in the lightning branch of the municipal corporation of Faisalabad, alleges a special branch report.

As many as 90 per cent of buildings of the city areas have been built against the rules and regulations framed by the government.

The report (a copy is available with Dawn) prepared by the special branch reads that personal assistant to mayor Malik Abdul Razzaq is also allegedly involved in corruption as he gets one per cent commission from contractors on award of various contracts. Owing to this practice, merit is being ignored and contracts are awarded to ‘blue-eyed’ contractors.

Mayor Razzaq was supported by former Punjab law minister and [now MNA] Rana Sanaullah and he defeated Sheraz Kahloon, who was fielded by former mayor Sher Ali, father of Abid Sher Ali, a former state minister for water and power.

90pc buildings in Faisalabad built against rules

The report alleges that building inspectors Shahzad Khan, Ghulam Murtaza, Naveed Ahmed and Nasir Shahzad receive heavy bribe from different town developers, including Riasat Dogar, Mohammad Yaseen, Shakoor Dogar, Shafqat Cheema, Ashiq Dogar, Mukhtar Dog for approval of their colony maps.

It says inspectors also get illegal gratification from the people who submit their building maps for approval.

However, the report did not mention the amount of bribe and whether or not any action has been initiated against the [building] inspectors.

It alleges Mohammad Naeem working as head of light department and Mohammad Riaz, contractor of lightning in city areas, are involved in corruption of hundreds of thousands of rupees. Instead of installing lights, they show lightning at different points on papers on a daily basis.

Riaz holds the contract of installing flexes and tents and allegedly embezzles public money in connivance with Mohammad Ilyas, superintendent engineering branch. They obtain money for installation of flexes and tents, in reality the situation remains the same. Talking to Dawn, opposition leader in municipal corporation, Sheraz Kahloon, who belongs to PML-N, has also endorsed contents of the report, saying such people had sound political connections.

“We had raised the issue [of corruption] in corporation meetings but all in vain,” he said.

Murtaza had also been arrested by the Anti Corruption Establishment a couple of months ago, Kahloon said adding now he is still in service.

Such reports carrying the names of the union council chairmen must be made public so that people could know what their representatives are doing after obtaining their votes, he suggested.

Published in Dawn, March 25th, 2019