SHC stays awarding of contracts to restore flood-hit schools over transparency issues

The Sindh High Court (SHC) has stayed the process of awarding contracts for rehabilitating flood-affected schools until further orders. The interim order came on a petition questioning transparency in awarding tenders.

Kanbho Khan and other petitioners said the government has initiated the process to award contracts to restore flood-affected schools, but it has devised criteria under which contractors working on small-scale businesses cannot participate.

Their counsel said small-scale business contractors can participate in the process if separate schools’ rehabilitation tenders are awarded. He questioned transparency in the process of awarding contracts, as international bidders are not included in the project. The SHC issued notices to the advocate general, the education department and others to file their comments, and stayed the process of awarding contracts until the next date of hearing.

Housing society

The Sindh High Court also restrained the appointment of private persons as administrators of cooperative housing societies. The direction came on a petition of Telephone Employees Cooperative Housing Society members against the appointment of a private person as the society’s administrator.

The petitioners said administrators were previously appointed unlawfully in the housing society, adding that they committed irregularities and also took away the record files with them. The court directed the cooperative housing society registrar to ensure the recovery of the society records, and directed the court’s Nazir to compile a report on the irregularities.