ISLAMABAD, Oct 24: A bid to award a Rs80 million contract to an ineligible firm has been unearthed in the Capital Development Authority (CDA), sources told Dawn on Sunday.

They said the firm had not been invited for the tenders but it filed its tender in connivance with some officials of the CDA.

When contacted, Director Roads (south) Rafiq Abbasi said the authority had started probe into the alleged irregularities in filing and opening of tenders.

The sources said three eligible firms were invited to tender for the construction of roads and drainage system in a new sector, I-14/4, and their tenders were to be submitted and opened on Saturday.

An empty tender box was placed in the room of the personal assistant of director roads (south) where the representatives of the three firms, Mir Alam Lari, National Logistics Cell and KK engineers, put their tenders in the box, the sources said.

"I submitted the first tender followed by the representatives of the two other firms," said proprietor of Mir Alam Lari, who claimed to have submitted the lowest bid of 10.30 per cent below the CDA rates. He said as the director roads was not present in the office, his personal assistant took the tender box to the director's room and locked it up.

The representatives of the three firms waited for three hours and tried their best to contact the director so that tenders could be opened before him.

Later, on the request of the firms representatives, deputy director roads-V opened the tenders but it was shocking to learn that there were four tenders in the box instead of three.

The firms representatives accused the directorate officials of unsealing their tenders and tendering the lowest rates when the box was in the room of the director.

Meanwhile, the director roads reached his office and opened the tender of Zafar and Company despite the fact that there were only three tenders in the box.