An audit report has exposed the use of luxury cars supplied by development contractors in spite of the fact that the officers of the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) already possessed government cars. This practice has been claimed to have increased the expenditures of the government to the extent of Rs9.520 million.
Some LDA Officers Found Using Contractor-Funded Luxury Vehicles
The audit report claims that officers of the LDA Engineering Wing added certain terms to project bidding documents. These terms required contractors to provide vehicles, fuel, and maintenance services as part of the agreements. The report highlighted concerns over the use of LDA Contractor Vehicles and their impact on project costs.
Contractors Also Provided Fuel and Maintenance
The officials from the Engineering Wing informed the audit committee that the contractors would provide the vehicles at the beginning of each project and they would provide petrol, oil, lubricants (POL) and other maintenance services. The authority informed that the vehicles together with their log books have been received and verified properly. But the audit committee wondered why the vehicles funded by the contractors were required when there were many officers using government funded vehicles. Why did the authorities keep charging transportation cost in the official project cost?
Audit Committee Orders Immediate Action
The audit committee has ordered the LDA to explain using LDA Contractor Vehicles. It has also directed the authority to return all contractor-owned vehicles immediately. The committee instructed the LDA not to include such clauses in future bidding documents or contracts, as they increase project costs and benefit officers instead of the public.
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According to LDA sources, the officers already had official vehicles. The government also covered their fuel and maintenance costs. The use of LDA Contractor Vehicles was considered an additional benefit funded through taxpayers’ money. No investigation has been launched against the officers who used these vehicles. No inquiry has been started into the increase in project costs either.
LDA Says the Matter Has Been Resolved
Tahir Farooq, DG LDA, said that the audit report is linked with a development project of 2021. He further said that the matter had been sorted out and all the vehicles provided by the contractors had been taken back. He further said that there were no clauses for provision of vehicles by contractors in the new LDA projects. The practice has been halted, according to the authorities. The audit committee is awaiting the response from the LDA regarding the matter. News source eTimes Pakistan.
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