PESHAWAR, Oct 3: The NWFP government has directed the Peshawar district government to re-auction the contract of the city’s general bus stand for 2007-8 after completing all the requisite formalities.
The provincial government issued the directives in the light of an inquiry conducted recently to examine the auctioning process.
Officials told Dawn that the district government, which governed the bus stand through private contractors, was unable to attract the maximum bid despite several attempts, which finally led to litigation.
The department of local government and rural development, which vets all the contracts of the district governments, ordered the Local Government Commission on Aug 25 to submit its findings on the contract process and operation of the bus stand.
According to the inquiry report, the auction proceedings were held on June 6 and the district government received two bids of Rs55 million and Rs61.5 million.
The competent authority did not accept the highest bid of Rs 61.5 million and the contract was put for re-auction mainly because the district government’s price for the contract was Rs 88.01 million.
The contract, said the report, was put for auction more than once but the proceedings could not be held and a local contractor was called to give an offer, who submitted an application on June 28 offering Rs75 million.
On the same day, another contractor submitted an application and offered over Rs80.01 million, which was submitted to the local government department by the district government.
According to the report, the auction proceedings were not open and the party which had earlier offered Rs61.5 million increased its bid to Rs81.5 million, following which the local government department directed the district government to re-auction the contract.
The department ordered that if any offer over Rs81.5 million was received, the contract might be awarded to the highest bidder, otherwise it should be awarded to the same party.
In line with the instructions, the district government re-advertised the contract; however, no one offered a higher bid.
The contract was supposed to be awarded to the highest bidder, but the other party obtained stay orders from the court of the Peshawar civil judge.
The district government also moved the court for vacation of the status quo orders and the case was still pending in the court, the reported said.
The Local Government Commission highlighted certain other irregularities in the operation of the bus stand, stating that those allotted cabins had occupied additional spaces in front of their cabins without permission. Other allottees had rented out their cabins along with the encroached area for as high a rent as Rs10,000-20,000 per month but were paying Rs1,200 per month to the district government.