Non-payment of bills: Multan metro contractors stop work at command centre

MULTAN: The Multan metro bus contractors Thursday suspended development work at Metro Command and Control Centre owing to non-payment of bills by the government, sources revealed to The News.

The contractors have complained that Punjab government has stopped giving payments of bills after the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) took over the project’s record over alleged embezzlement of worth Rs1.4 billion.

The metro contractors were constructing the command and control centre building at Chungi No 9 but all of a sudden they suspended the construction work and removed the machinery on Thursday. The contractors complained that the government has suspended all payments since it sworn in and the NAB investigation. They said the officials of Multan Development Authority had been sent reminders for reimbursement of payments and the MDA forwarded their requests to the provincial government but all in vain. Now the metro contractors have decided to file suit in the courts against the government for reimbursements.

The NAB sources disclosed that the scope of investigation into metro bus corruption would be widened. The NAB investigators have collected fresh evidences into embezzlement in purchase of land for the construction of metro flyovers.

The arrest of ex-land acquisition collector Mustafa Gujjar is expected in coming days. The NAB authorities have started proceedings against tehsildar and Qanogo over their alleged involvement in massive corruption in land purchase. Metro project’s ex-chief engineer Sabir Sadozai and six MDA officials have already been on physical remand with NAB Multan directorate, said the NAB officials.