Government contractors from Bara Khyber agency have expressed concern over allegedly awarding of contract to blued-eye people for a development scheme against the terms and conditions of pre-qualification in the agency.
Addressing a press conference, President Tribal Contractors Association, Hashim Khan Afridi said that the Fata Highway division had issued a pre-qualification notice for a small-scale road infrastructure development of the project, of nearly seven kilometers a total worth of Rs 150 million on January, 25 last month.
Afridi stated that more than 25 contract companies had submitted their pre-requisite documents for the bidding of the small-scale road project with the office of the Fata Highway division. He alleged that the contract was illegally awarded by the FHD Chief Engineer, Daud Khan Khattak and Xen Hamid Jan Afridi to a blue-eyed contractor on the condition of a 40 per cent share in the project.
Flanked by Khayal Mohammad Afridi, Haji Turab Khan, Haji Javed Khan, and others, Afridi stated that the FHD had only accepted documents of six bidders for completion of the pre-qualification procedure of the project, while it had rejected documents of 18 qualified companies regarding the scheme.
According to officials of the FHD, he further said they didn't accept their documents for pre-qualification and awarded the contract to a company on special directives of former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Barrister Masood Kausar. Afridi alleged that the FHD Chief Engineer had been involved in corruption in different development schemes, as he had taken advance payment from local contractors in the agency.
He furthermore, said that the FHD had disapproved the documents of the contractors due to non-availability of acceptance of advance, because of which a number of development schemes were delayed in the Khyber Agency. He demanded of the recently appointed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Engr. Shaukatullah to take notice of illegal award of contract and retending for the road project by open auction in the Khyber Agency.