A private firm has approached National Accountability Bureau (NAB) against alleged irregularities in awarding a contract worth Rs 240 million for rehabilitation and beautification of II Chundrigar Road, one of the main thoroughfares of Karachi.
News360 learned that Karachi Development Authority (KDA) errantly awarded a contract worth Rs 240 million to a blue-eyed contractor despite lowest bids were placed.
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The sources told News360 that a XEN (Chief Engineer) Tariq Rafi had assured the sucessful contractor of the deal on condition of 10% commission.
In response to irregularities in the awarding process, Haji Sangeen Khan & Sons (HSKS), a government contractor, has registered a complaint with KDA’s Complain Redressal Committee.
The complainant has pointed out violations of Sindh Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (SPPRA) rules in the process.
He accused that the chairman and members of the procurement committee are involved in the corruption.
HSKS noted that the bid amount was not indicated in the Notice Inviting Tender (NIT) for rehabilitation and beautification of II Chundrigar Road issued on April 28.
The complainant said that despite placing the first lowest bid, the firm was not awarded the contract as it was declared ineligible by unscrupulous KDA officials.
Further, in an application filed by a pipe-making ndustry in the anti-graft watchdog, it has been claimed that XEN Tariq Rafi has dishonestly awarded 20 quotations to firms he is directly or indirectly associated with.
NAB has been requested to carry out action against the KDA official who is involved in massive corruption.
Moreover, Mehran Contractors Association (MCA) chairman disclosed that two parallel procurement committees are working in KDA.
One of them is headed by Tariq Rafiq while the other one by Abdul-Muttalib Manan, he informed News360.
MCA chairman also leveled charges of corruption on committee members and demanded to carry out the tendering process of the project all over again.
News360 tried to contact Tariq Rafi to take his stance on the charges however he could not be reached despite multiple attempts.