FAISALABAD, Nov 1: The Punjab government has ordered cancellation of tenders and work orders of construction of several roads in this district after reports indicating corruption of millions of rupees emerged, and it is most likely that these contracts will now be given to the National Logistics Corporation (NLC) or the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO).

The departments concerned, including the Faisalabad Development Authority (FDA), the district government and town administrations, have been duly instructed in this connection, a source told Dawn on Saturday.

The source said representing local parliamentarians, Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan informed Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif that tenders of several road projects had been awarded to the contractors who did not have necessary equipment to execute the projects, and they procured these contracts allegedly by greasing the palms of the officials concerned to the tune of 35 per cent of the tender amount.

They said inexperienced and non-professional contractors had been causing huge losses to public exchequer instead of rendering service to the nation.

A majority of the parliamentarians were of the view that the commission mafia and their nexus with contractors should be curbed immediately by cancelling all contracts awarded to them by different departments.

According to the source, the FDA, the district government and town administrations had been directed by the Punjab government to cancel their tenders and work orders issued for the construction of roads by private contractors. The Punjab government decision would hit at least 36 road projects currently in the pipeline of their execution in this district, they added.

Talking to Dawn, Rana Sanaullah said the elected representatives had repeatedly been complaining that contracting out tenders to inexperienced and non-qualified contractors was causing huge financial losses to the government.

He said following corruption complaints, the chief minister had ordered cancellation of all the contracts to construct main roads and their arteries, and these contracts would now be given to the National Logistics Corporation (NLC).

Supporting chief minister’s decision, PML-N MPA Rana Mohammad Afzal, who is himself an engineer, said petty contractors must be barred from building main roads and arteries as they lacked requisite expertise as well as equipment. He suggested that such contracts be awarded to companies like the NLC or the FWO having sophisticated equipment and machinery to construct durable roads.

He said the local contractors were doing nothing but causing millions of rupees losses to the exchequer by constructing useless roads.

MPA Khwaja Mohammad Islam said parliamentarians were happy over the decision as their electorate would now have construction of durable roads instead of the useless built recently by the local contractors.

He said it was Sharif who had introduced the NLC in this district in 1997 and roads constructed by the company were still in tact and in good condition. He said this indeed had moved the local parliamentarians to persuade the government to hire the services of this company again.

A district government official, requesting anonymity, told Dawn that pursuant to chief minister’s directives, tenders of at least six FDA projects costing Rs45 million had been cancelled.