Free ride: 76 PML-N affiliates costing Rs20m to Punjab govt

Tribune
These people were appointed after approval by the Chief Minister's secretariat.

LAHORE: As the Punjab government abolishes 550 posts to save Rs6 billion annually in expenditures, 76 people connected with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) continue to work as coordinators, chairpersons of task forces and media consultants in various departments and institutions, causing a financial burden of above Rs20 million annually to the provincial government.

An official requesting anonymity told that these appointed men are enjoying perks and privileges without making any remarkable contribution to government business.

Among them, 49 are consultants, 17 chairpersons of task forces of various departments and 10 are media consultants in the Information Culture and Youth Affairs (IC&YA) department to look after media management of the government.

Since July 2009, the Punjab government has appointed ruling party office-bearers and workers, 49 of them, as coordinators in various departments and teaching hospitals to assist officials in improving performance and service delivery to the masses. Of these 49, 11 are offered salaries, allowances, vehicles, petrol, lubricant and oil, office with telephone facilities. Their salaries range between Rs20,000 and 75,000 per month. They are also provided between 150 and 200 litres of fuel per month. The remaining 38 are working on a honorary basis.

These individuals are enjoying perks associated with their posts without making any contribution to government affairs. Since June 2008, the Punjab government led by Shahbaz Sharif constituted 28 task forces in different departments, which were assigned various responsibilities including recommending proposals for the promotion of good governance and merit in the public sector. The purpose of establishing these task forces was to save public funds likely to be utilised on offices of provincial ministers.

The government, after approval by the chief minister’s secretariat, appointed some elected parliamentarians, party office bearers, like-minded businessmen, retired bureaucrats and technocrats as chairpersons of these task forces. All chairmen were given official vehicles, offices, telephones and manpower to complete the assigned tasks. Of these appointed people, 11 were offered salary packages ranging between Rs75,000 and Rs2,25,000. In addition, they were also offered travelling allowance/daily allowance at par with BS-20 officers.

However in August 2010, after analysing the poor performance and casual attitude of the chairpersons, the Punjab government abolished 11 task forces on the directions of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, an official said. But despite that, 17 people continue to enjoy benefits as chairpersons of various bodies.

An official said that the provincial government can save Rs20 million if it terminates contracts of these 76 people.

VIP protection: CM’s office security bolstered at Rs12m cost

Tribune

Rs373 million spent on security of top functionaries since Dec 2007.

LAHORE: The police department is set to install additional equipment worth Rs12 million to beef up security at the chief minister’s camp office in Raiwind.

The decision has been taken in the wake of the assassination of Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer. A summary moved by the Special Branch has been approved by the provincial finance department.

The sanctioned equipment includes two vehicle scanners, two CCTV networks with 40 cameras, 25 sets of walkie-talkies, 12 searchlights, a sound system, two blow-horns, 10 cabins, a sniffer dog and a moveable picket.

The Punjab government has spent Rs373 million since December 2007 on security upgrades for VIPs.

An official said most of the equipment purchased  previously was for 41-S Defence Housing Authority and 180-H Model Town (CM’s camp office and residence). He said that installation of similar equipment at the chief minister’s residence in Raiwind was because it has been declared his camp office.

“A Special Branch team will be deployed at the Raiwind office to monitor security arrangements around the clock,” he added.

He said that currently 248 Elite Force personnel were deployed for the security of the Sharif family. Of these, he said, 71 were with Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, including 58 at his Raiwind residence, 55 with Nawaz Sharif, 24 with Hamza Shahbaz, seven with Salman Shahbaz, six with Capt (retd) Safdar Mehmood, nine with Imran Yousaf (Shahbaz’nephew) and 10 with the chief minister’s first wife. Eight Elite Force officials were deployed at the Gulberg residence of Shahbaz’s other wife, he added.

Another police official seeking anonymity said that the police department was facing a shortage of funds and that police officials on other than VIP duty were mostly using outdated weapons.

In December 2008, the police department imported security equipment worth Rs250 million, including heavy-duty IED jammers, walk-through gates (with photo recording facility), conventional gates with wooden carry boxes, bomb locators/mine detectors, hand-held metal detectors, bomb defusing blankets, defusing bin, bullet-proof jackets, bullet-proof rostrum, CCTV cameras and bottom-view mirrors with night-sight facility.

In December 2007, the provincial government provided Rs111 million for the purchase of 621 items. These included four Toyota Land Cruisers and four heavy-duty IED jammers, 23 walk-through gates (with photo recording facility), 90 conventional gates with wooden carry boxes, 30 bomb locators/mine detectors, 340 hand held metal detectors and 130 bottom-view mirrors with night sight facility.

Of these, 80 were handed to the Directorate of Civil Defence, 13 to Services and General Administration Department (S&GAD) and remaining 528 remained with the police department.

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa: Rs5 billion land scam leads to 'ANP' chief minister house

ISL

AMABAD: 


A mind-boggling Rs5 billion land scam has hit Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa after Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti secretly approved the allotment of 170 acres of olive orchards to an unknown construction and manufacturing firm.

The Rawalpindi-based M/s NI Associates, reportedly owned by a front man of a top Awami National Party (ANP) leader, purchased the land at a throwaway price. Hoti had cancelled a 12-year-old lease agreement with the federal government’s olive oil research station at Mardan, spelling the demise of the multi-billion rupee project to promote edible oil production in Pakistan.

The market price of 170 acres or 1,361 kanals of agricultural land, now given to the private party located on Mardan-Swabi road, has been estimated at Rs5 billion.  The commercial value of 20,000 mature olive trees and other fruit orchards and machinery has yet to be ascertained in monetary terms. The olive trees were gifted by Turkey and Italy to help Pakistan attain self-sufficiency in edible oil in a bid to help it reduce its import bill, which has touched $2 billion per annum.

The whole drama of allotment unfolded when a 100-strong police contingent led by a DSP raided Pakistan Oil Development Board (PODB)’s research station on December 3 – the same day the land was officially allotted in favour of one Mr Javed Iqbal. The police broke the locks and kicked out its employees. It took control of the orchards at gun point and gave them in Mr Iqbal’s possession.

The lease agreement between the provincial Auqaf department which owned the land and PODB was to end in 2012 but the provincial government prematurely terminated the contract.

Mr Mushtaq, Provincial Director, PODB research farm, Mardan, wrote a strongly-worded letter in protest to Administrator Auqaf, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Mr Inaam Khan. The police raid was a breach of the law of the land, norms and official decorum and in detriment to the nation’s interests, the letter said.

The mother olive orchard and germplasm unit was to be used for obtaining bud wood for grafting onto wild olive trees. He warned that PODB would not vacate these olive oil orchards, considering the fact that the infrastructure was developed at huge financial cost and ten years’ research and experimentation.

Hundreds of official documents confirming the land scam, available with The Express Tribune, reveal that PODB was informed on December 6, 2010, by Inaam Khan in writing that Mr Javed Iqbal of M/s NI Associates was to take possession of the land.

“You are requested to kindly shift the equipments/machinery lying on the premises of the said Auqaf land within ten days time so that the site be cleared for the new lessee.”

The competent authority had approved the long lease of plot measuring 1,361 kanals at Machi Sangbhatti, Marddan to M/s NI Associates Construction Manufacturing Trading Consultancy of Modern farming of 155-A, Bank Road Saddar Rawalpindi at the rate of Rs1,200 per kanal for twenty years, read the original notification.

Twelve different varieties of olive trees were planted on 140 acres of land from 2001 to 2005. A germplasm unit was also established on 10 acres. Twelve olive cultivators of 288 plants were imported from different countries for evaluation. The performance of these cultivators was to be completed over three years. University students were to do research work in these orchards. PODB’s research farm had also installed six green houses for olive production. Presently, 10,000 of air layering were shifted and remaining nursery was in progress.

A metrological station used for recording temperature, humidity, chilling hours, wind speed data has also passed into the hands of the new lessee, along with three tube wells and a drip irrigation system.

This correspondent made telephone calls to Secretary, Auqaf department, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Mr Nauman Shah Jadoon and to Administrator Auqaf, Mr Inaam Khan, to get their point of view. They refused to attend their calls. Nor did the gentlemen reply to text messages sent on their mobile phones.

TRIBUNE