The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday cancelled a contract granted to a private firm by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to provide furniture for the Parliament Lodges. The contract was cancelled by a single-member bench headed by Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui during the hearing of a petition filed by Burhan Kundi Furniture, which took the plea that the CDA overlooked the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules on granting the contract.
During the course of proceeding, the court declared that the contract was awarded to the private firm by the CDA against PPRA rules, directing the CDA Chairman to re-tender the contract transparently. Besides, Justice Siddiqui expressed annoyance over the state of affairs in the CDA with the observation that the CDA has been making appointments and transfers under the pressure of the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly. He maintained that different vacant posts in the CDA were being filled by payment. He said the Prime Minister should take serious notice of the situation; otherwise a number of people would be declared ineligible in the civic body in case of the court action.