Saahil Suhail
Anantnag, May 24: In blatant violation of the norms, a top official of the Pahalgam Development Authority (PDA) have floated tenders for outsourcing of the famed Betab valley four times during last one and a half month to accommodate a 'blue-eyed' contractor. Sources said the chief executive officer, PDA, Riyaz Ahmad Wani, a close relative of Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, who was in once jailed in the multi-crore Kishtwar food scam, has floated tenders for the scenic spot at least four times after assuming the charge last month."This was done by the tainted officer to accommodate his favourite contractor, the owner of a reputed private school of Anantnag," the sources said.During the last tendering process, the highest bid was put at Rs 4.50 crore, but the same was cancelled later, they said.A contractor, Bilal Ahmad Sheikh said the CEO on Friday invited fresh tenders but the notice published in a local daily, ironically, had given only one day for submitting the documents. "Now when we applied for the tenders, the officer again told us that he won't outsource the scenic spot for less than Rs 6 crore," the contractor said. "In an attempt to accommodate his friend, the officer is cancelling the tenders time and again," said the contractor. "The officer has also failed to collect the outstanding amount from the contractor who had been allotted the park last year. The contractor despite proving defaulter continues to collect the revenue from the park, thus causing loss to the state exchequer." Wani, when contacted, expressed ignorance about cancellation of tenders. "No, I don't know who cancelled tenders," he told Early Times and dropped the call. |
