Parliament Lodges shops: CDA waiting for Senate panel’s nod to issue tenders

Parliamentarians flay quarters for drivers as ‘unfit for humans’

The top civic body has told a sub-panel of parliamentarians that while it has reopened stores in the Parliament Lodges temporarily, they are waiting for the nod from the panel before issuing a tender to hand out fresh contracts for the stores.

This was disclosed by officials of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) during a meeting of the subcommittee of the Senate Committee of House. The committee met at the conference hall of the Parliament Lodges on Monday with Senator Kulsoom Parveen in the chair.

The committee said that they wished to resolve issues faced by parliamentarians living in the lodges.



During Monday’s meeting, Parveen expressed reservations over the quarters built for drivers and other help of parliamentarians.

She said that a visit to the quarters appears as if one has descended into a grave. She added that the idea behind building the quarters to let the drivers, who are humans as well, to get some rest. However, she said that these quarters are not suitable for any human to rest in.

She called for a transparent inquiry into the matter.

The committee also sought records of and details of all contractors who have worked on the lodges over the past decade and said that it was time that CDA’s monopoly comes to an end.

The lawmakers further said that project contractors have become a mafia of their own.



Deliberating over the matter of Parliament Lodges Deputy Director Farooq Azam for writing letters to parliamentarians living in the lodges without seeking express approval of the Senate chairman, the committee decided to suspend Azam and review the matter in detail at the next meeting of the panel. 

Published in The Express Tribune, October 16^th, 2018.