ISLAMABAD: In a bid to stop scams under the garb of quotations, Capital Development Authority (CDA) chief Mohammad Usman has ordered that the civic agency will not work on the basis of quotation system and any violation would result in strict disciplinary action.
The directives came amid a probe by the CDA into a multi-billion rupees scam carried out through the quotation system which allows the agency directorates to bypass tenders in emergency tasks under Rs500,000.
Sources said the CDA chief said there was no provision for carrying out development work through quotations while directing all directorates to follow the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules.
Despite orders issued on the directives of the CDA chief in February last year and April this year, various wings of the CDA, mainly three directorates, continued carrying out development work without tenders.
Directorates bypassed tenders to carry out projects worth billions
Though there are conflicting reports about the magnitude of construction work carried out under the quotation system, officials said at least Rs10 billion were spent on construction work through the quotation system.
Under quotations, only emergency work to the tune of Rs500,000 could be carried out through one quotation, but the civic agency spent Rs10 billion using the quotations system.
“Instead of going for open tenders, ‘piecemeal’ work was carried out through quotations,” said an engineer of the CDA. CDA…