Huge corruption and violation of rules have been detected in the contract award of the Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) to a foreign company by the previous Shehbaz Sharif government.
According to forensic audit report of the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP), the LWMC contract, worth Rs53 billion was awarded to a Turkish company in sheer violation of federal as well as PPRA rules and regulations.
The report pinpoints that instead of getting approved the project from Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC), it was got approved from the LWMC board, in blatant violation rules governor all such processes.
According to the documents, majority of LWMC board members was consisted of PML-N lawmakers who took no time to approve the project, besides the Turkish company presented huge gifts to politicians to pave their way.
According LWMC sources, huge amount of Rs100 million was given to Alburaq in violation of rules and fake degree-holders were appointed on important slots.
It is to be mentioned here that massive financial misappropriation and wrongdoings were found in the capacity enhancement project of Punjab Environment Protection Department.
The report said that Rs130 million was approved for purchase of equipment and capacity-building of the staff to enable them keep environment clean. However, neither equipment could be purchased for the purpose, nor capacity-building of the staff could be carried, the report said.
The report also revealed that the Environment Protection Department utilized 52 percent additional funds without any proper approval. Similarly, the department spent additional funds of Rs100 million on unnecessary items etc…. despite presence of environmental laboratory, funds were doled out on new project which was in fact waste of public money, the report added.
Sources informed that PML-N members sponsored corruption, rendered the LWMC ‘sterile’ which ultimately led to insanitation and heaps of garbage all the across the metropolis.
They said that the AGP report is an eye-opener and demanded the quarters concerned to bring all those involved in corruption and ruining public money to the book to make them pay for their wrongdoings.
