ISLAMABAD: After facing public criticism over a tender worth over Rs47 million for the repair and maintenance of a federal minister’s official residence, city managers clarified on Monday that there was a typographical error.

The CDA on Saturday had floated the tender worth Rs 47.3 million for “repair and maintenance of house No 36 at Minister Enclave, Islamabad,” and called for bids from registered firms.

There was uproar on social media on Sunday, as people criticised the civic agency for its plan to spend such a huge amount on the official residence of Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi.

However, the CDA on Monday came up with a statement saying the tender was originally meant for eight houses in the Minister Enclave, not one. The CDA also issued a corrigendum with an amendment to the tender on Monday edition of newspapers, removing the name of house No 36 and replacing it with eight houses.

When contacted, a CDA spokesperson stated: “It was a routine matter which was meant for maintenance of 8 houses at the cost of 47 million but there was a typo error in the advertisement published on August 2. The typo error was immediately rectified by the CDA itself and a corrigendum was issued the very next day.”

However, an official source expressed surprise at the CDA’s explanation, pointing out the significant discrepancy between mentioning house No 36 and listing eight separate houses.

“If this was a typo error, a proper inquiry should be conducted to fix the responsibility for such a blunder,” he said.

Published in Dawn, August 5th, 2025