Senate panel rebukes Nespak, NTDC over tendering process

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Economic Affairs on Friday expressed strong displeasure over the role of National Engineering Services Pakistan (Pvt) Limited (Nespak) and the National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) over tendering process.

The meeting was held at the Parliament House under the chairmanship of Senator Saifullah Abro, and attended by Senators Kamran Murtaza, Rahat Jamali, Falak Naz, Kamil Ali Agha and senior management from the ministry/relevant departments.

Committee chairman Senator Abro remarked that it was a matter of great embarrassment that Nespak, a national institution responsible for technical evaluations, failed to prevent such a decision. It was Nespak’s responsibility to ensure proper verification, he stated. Senator Abro highlighted that if the contract was awarded to the deserving bidder, the country could have saved Rs500 million. He noted that the company to which the project was awarded -- Newage, Lahore -- lacked the relevant experience. Expressing serious concern in this regard, he said this kind of negligence cannot be ignored.

Senator Abro said the matter will be pursued through the relevant forums like the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Public Accounts Committee (PAC), and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to ensure that the public funds were recovered. He also recommended that strict action should be taken against the involved officers. Referring to legal inconsistencies, he questioned, if PPRA laws were not applicable, how can a letter from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) be considered valid. He recalled that during the previous meeting, three letters were presented by M. Ali, the caretaker minister, which further raised serious questions regarding the transparency of the process.

When the committee sought further details, it was informed that all relevant data from the Engineering Development Board (EDB) had been destroyed in a fire, and only one verified letter was presented before the committee. Senator Kamal Ali Agha inquired whether an inquiry was conducted following the fire incident. The department stated that no inquiry was carried out. To which, the committee chairman recommended that a formal inquiry be conducted into the fire incident and that strict action be taken against those found responsible, including officers from the Power Division.

The chairman asked whether any recovery of the misused funds had been made, to which the department responded that a letter had been written to NTDC. The chairman recommended that all the involved companies be blacklisted, the misappropriated funds be recovered, and that the officers be terminated,

The committee also inquired about the report and minutes of the 282nd NTDC Board meeting. It was required to submit its report within 15 days, however, the board submitted it after six months. The chairman recommended that strict action be taken against the board and that the amount be recovered within two weeks.

During the briefing on the Sindh Solar Energy Project (SSEP), the committee discussed the issue of encroached lands and expressed astonishment over the revelation that local residents were being paid to vacate the encroached government land.

The committee was told that the project was being funded through loans from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank. It was informed that solar panels were available in the local market at approximately Rs27,000, while the department was procuring them at Rs60,000.

Senator Abro noted this as a serious violation and recommended that the matter be referred to the PAC to examine discrepancies between the market rates and procurement costs.