LHC seeks report on rehabilitation of drug addicts

Court to take up petition against a contract awarded by NTDC.

LAHORE: Lahore High Court (LHC) issued notices last week to respondents on a petition seeking registration of drug addicts and the establishment of rehabilitation centres for them.

The court sought a report from the excise and taxation secretary and the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) director until May 5.

Rida Qazi, the petitioner, stated that after the passage of the 18th Amendment, the provincial government was responsible for the rehabilitation of the drug addicts. “LHC’s earlier orders to the government for taking steps to start projects for the welfare of drug addicts have not been implemented,” she told the court.

The petitioner said that there was a dire need to provide treatment facilities to the addicts.



The counsel representing the Communication and Works Department informed the court that work had been initiated on the rehabilitation centres.

NTDC

The LHC will take up a petition this week challenging a contract awarded to the SA-RA, a Turkish company, by the National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) for the procurement of material, accessories, dampers and wires.

The court had earlier sought a reply from the NTDC on the petition.

The NTDC had opened a tender for procurement of material, accessories and dampers, wire and other items for a 500KV transmission line from Neelum-Jhelum Hydro Project to Domeli. Five companies from various countries had participated in the bidding. Through a local agent in Pakistan, Messrs Mosdorfer of Austria, one of the bidding participants, had challenged the contract awarded to SA-RA, a Turkish company.

On behalf of the petitioner, Advocate Azhar Siddique argued that the NTDC had awarded the contract to the Turkish company in violation of procurement rules. He said the respondent company did not have the requisite experience and the qualification it had mentioned on papers was based on bogus claims because 500KV transmission lines, as mentioned by the respondent-company in experience sheets, did not exist in respective end-users’ networks.

He said the bid evaluation had been manipulated in clear violation of procurement rules.

The advocate asked the court to cancel the contract awarded to the respondent company and direct the NTDC to award it to the petitioner-company which was a qualified bidder. Justice Farrukh Irfan Khan had issued a notice to the NTDC for submitting a reply by April 30.

Rallies on The Mall

The LHC sought replies from the chief secretary, the CCPO, the DCO and others on a petition requesting the court to initiate contempt of court proceedings against them for not effectively enforcing a ban on protest rallies on The Mall.

The court directed the respondents to file their replies until May 19. The petition was moved on behalf of the Mall Road Traders’ Association.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 27^th, 2015.