Fishy business: Town admin seals deal for fire tenders in one meeting

The administrator handed the company a cheque for Rs14 million.

SUKKUR: The taluka municipal government of Sukkur bought two regular fire tenders with Rs10 million provided by the Sindh government for buying two sky-lift ones.

With the surge in multi-storey buildings in the city, the taluka administration asked for permission to buy two sky-lift fire tenders in February. In May, the local government department of the provincial government responded in affirmative and asked the district administration to provide taluka administration with Rs10 million. Around Rs4 million were added to the amount by the taluka administration itself.

The tendering committee consisted of seven members and was headed by town municipal administrator, Abdul Shakoor Mahar. It met with the marketing manager of Meraj Limited, Naeem Akhtar on September 19. Going against regulations, Mahar placed an order for two regular fire tenders with the company and handed Akhtar a cheque of Rs14 million at the the meeting. The company too, reportedly returned the favour and waived Rs950,000 from the original quotation.

One tender, with a capacity of 7,500 litres was received, while another with a capacity of 4,300 litres will be received after four months. According to an official of the town administration Mahar also received a cheque for Rs2.5 million from this deal.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 24^th, 2011.