Govt to release white paper on PML-N corruption in energy dept, says minister

LAHORE: Punjab Minister for Energy Dr Muhammad Akhtar Malik has said that the PTI government will release a white paper on corruption made in energy department by the PML-N government. Among them, many cases are under investigation in NAB, he added.

Dr Akhter Malik expressed these views while addressing a joint press conference with Punjab Information Minister Syed Samsam Ali Bokhari and spokesperson to Chief Minister, Shahbaz Gill and senior PTI leader Omar Cheema. Speaking on the occasion, Provincial Minister for Energy, Dr Akhtar Malik has said that except five months there was no Energy Minister in Punjab during the last nine years.

Shahbaz Sharif kept this department with him and personally contacted the contractors directly in all the projects, said the minister. He said it was the modus operandi of the previous government to arrange the bidding of an item worth Rs2crore in Rs15crore through a favourite contractor who was later asked to reduce Rs3crore and as a result of this game the material of Rs2crore was launched in Rs12crore claiming that saving of crores of rupees have been made and corruption of not a single penny can be proved. He said the government would come up with the white paper regarding the wrong doings of the previous government and every month corruption made in a company would be exposed to the public.

Exposing one act of corruption took place in Punjab Power Development Company Ltd, he told reporters that this company ran the administration of the hydro, wind and clean energy projects. Anti-corruption and NAB have so far proved the corruption of Rs35crore out of which Rs250 million have been given to Ali Imran, son-in-law of Shahbaz Sharif, through cross cheques.

NAB is also investigating other details. He said that Naveed Akram was appointed as a Chief Accountant of this company who is in the custody of NAB nowadays. Farrukh Shah was appointed as CEO of this company who later became approver. NAB has so far recovered Rs34,901,978. The minister while briefing about the performance of government said that energy policy was being evolved in collaboration with federal government. He said the present government got energy department in a very bad condition. He said that work was being carried out on various people-friendly projects. He said “We made Head Marala Project functional and completed the turbine of hydro project in Pakpattan which was non-functional for last 1.5 year at a sum of Rs23 million instead of Rs90 million.”