Rules violation: IHC stays procurement of 20m smart cards

Private company files petition challenging tender process.

ISLAMABAD:

The Islamabad High Court on Tuesday issued a stay order against the tender process for the procurement of 20 million smart ID cards which were advertised by National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) in March this year.

Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui issued notices to the interior secretary and Nadra’s procurement director, both of whom have till the third week of June to submit their responses.

Muhammad Sanaullah Habib, head of SCT Group, a private company, filed a petition challenging the tender process, terming it discriminatory and nontransparent. The firm provides security-related equipment to the government and private sector.

The petitioner’s counsel, Advocate Saad Rasool, informed the court that the interior ministry and Nadra had announced a tender for the procurement of 20 million smart ID cards on March 7, for which his client was interested in bidding.



However, Nadra had issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) on March 28 after amending the tender specifications to favour a company of its liking. Rasool said this was a clear violation of Public Procurement Regulatory Authority rules.

He added that the RFP had been issued despite a letter his client had written to Nadra’s procurement director on April 12 citing concerns about the tender process.

Rasool said his client had again written to Nadra on April 28, requesting the authority’s procurement director to investigate the violation, but it was to no avail.

He appealed to the court to declare the procurement process illegal and directed Nadra to embark on a fresh, transparent tender process.

The smart cards in question are chip-based national identity cards comprising 36 security features.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 5^th, 2013.