MULTAN: The inquiry committee probing the recent cracks in the Multan Metro Bus flyover recommended lodging a first information report (FIR) against the contractor and consultant and action under the Punjab Employees Efficiency, Discipline and Accountability (PEEDA) Act 2006 against the officers of the engineering wing of Multan Development Authority (MDA), Dawn has learnt.

The inquiry, conducted on direction of Commissioner Imran Sikandar, also stated that the cracks in the metro bus flyover were the result of weak bridge joints and structural faults.

The commissioner had constituted a committee, headed by Deputy Commissioner Mudassar Riaz Malik, on March 30 after pieces of concrete fell on the Bosan Road. The MDA director technical, EXEN Roads and the manager operations of the Punjab Masstransit Authority were the members of the committee.

The commissioner had directed the committee to submit its report within two days after calculating the loss and identifying those responsible.

The committee said the recommendations might also be sought from any renowned companies dealing with construction, chemical and the concrete and on the basis of that opinion, corrective measures might be taken by the MDA on entire metro track without further loss of time.

A certificate after checking all the piers as well as expansion joints to ensure that they are working as per standards and are structurally stable may also be sought from the MDA engineering wing, the report said, recommending a criminal case may be registered against the contractor and consultant for criminal negligence and threat to life. It also recommended strict legal action under the Punjab Employees Efficiency, Discipline and Accountability (PEEDA) Act 2006 against the officers of the MDA engineering wing who signed the bills of the contractor or verified/approved the quality of work. It suggested that until corrective measures were taken for all expansion joints, the area underneath these joints might be cordoned off and protected by the MDA and police department to save human lives.

Sources said the committee deliberately spared the MDA officers with only action under the PEEDA Act to save them while recommending lodging of the case against the contractor and consultant despite the fact the MDA officers were equally responsible for the criminal negligence. The committee did not mention even the names of the officers responsible for the negligence.

Commissioner Sikandar said it was an initial report that’s why the responsibility of the officers had not been fixed.

“We are not going to lodge the FIR yet. It will be lodged after the comprehensive inquiry.”

The commissioner said the damage could not be ascertained with this report.

“We are going to hire the services of a third party validation firm which will calculate the loss and suggest remedy after inspecting 500 piers,” he added.

He said that any action would be taken in the light after completion of a comprehensive report.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has already launched two inquiries into the alleged corruption in the Multan metro bus project.

Published in Dawn, April 16th, 2019