K-P Wildlife Dept accused of bid fraud

A legal notice has been served to the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Wildlife & National Parks Department, accusing it of serious irregularities, favouritism, and legal violations in the recent tender process for an eco-tourism project at Ayubia National Park. The notice demands immediate corrective action.

Issued by Advocate Malik Saeed Akhtar on behalf of the firm Titanic 2000, the legal notice alleges that the tender process was manipulated to benefit "pre-selected, blue-eyed" bidders in collusion with department officials.

The notice highlights that the department unlawfully bypassed the UNESCO Man and Biosphere (MAB) Programme's mandated Biosphere Management Committee, violating international commitments. It also accuses the department of duplicity—opposing the Ayubia Chairlift Project on ecological grounds while allegedly advancing a similar initiative under a non-transparent Request for Proposals (RFP).

Citing "concrete evidence," the notice claims that technical evaluation scores were arbitrarily altered post-submission to favour specific bidders, breaching KPPRA Rule 47. It also expresses strong suspicion that financial bids may be tampered with after submission, violating KPPRA Rule 34.

The document outlines additional procedural breaches, including: Absence of the Bid Evaluation Committee Chairman during the opening of bids, unlawful delegation of decision-making authority to a single individual and marginalisation of official committee members while two Wildlife Department officials handled the process.

Formation of a "parallel evaluation committee," which allegedly opened bids and showed clear favouritism toward one bidder.

Moreover, bidders were reportedly given an unrealistic six-day deadline to submit Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs), despite legal obligations under the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act, 1997, placing this responsibility on the project proponent—not bidders. This requirement was allegedly omitted from the RFP.

Significant delays in the evaluation process occurred without formal communication, and the department's actions are said to violate the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Wildlife and Biodiversity Act, 2015, KPPRA Rules, and other governing laws.

Titanic 2000 has demanded that the Divisional Forest Officer: Immediately rectify all legal and procedural violations. Ensure compliance with KPPRA Rules 2014 and other environmental and procurement laws, transfer responsibility to the officially notified committee and take corrective action against officials involved in the alleged misconduct.

The firm warned that failure to comply within seven days would result in legal proceedings at the department's risk and cost.

Concerns raised

In a related development, Sardar M Sabir, Vice Chairman of the Biosphere Management Committee, has written to the Secretary of the Forest & Wildlife Department, Government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. In a two-page letter, a copy of which is available with The Express Tribune, he raised concerns over alleged bid manipulation, procedural violations, and the committee's exclusion from the entire process—despite its governance role under the UNESCO MAB Programme.

Sabir stated that technical scores were altered to favour a particular bidder and alleged attempts to modify financial bids post-submission. He also noted that no committee members were involved in bid evaluation, with all authority centralised in one individual. The absence of the Conservator Wildlife, the committee's chairman, during the bid opening was also highlighted.

He called for an impartial investigation into bid-rigging and procurement violations, immediate cancellation of the current tender process and inclusion of the Biosphere Management Committee in all future planning and decision-making.

The controversy echoes a similar uproar surrounding the earlier Ayubia Chairlift Project, which also faced backlash over procedural irregularities and ecological concerns. In that case, the Galiyat Development Authority (GDA) leased 110 kanals of land to the Monal Group for commercial use, raising alarms about potential harm to the park's ecological balance.

Ayubia National Park's status as a UNESCO-designated Biosphere Reserve underscores the need for rigorous environmental protection and transparent governance to ensure its biodiversity and ecological integrity are preserved.