Faisalabad Suthra Punjab Project: Corruption worth Rs 1 billion revealed; case registered against more than 10 people

Lahore – The Anti-Corruption Establishment Punjab has registered a case against more than 10 government officers and contractors, revealing alleged corruption worth Rs 1 billion under the Suthra Punjab programme in Faisalabad.

According to the case, the government exchequer suffered huge loss through fake entries and data alteration in the digital system of the Faisalabad Waste Management Company.

The FIR states that the private contractor “Care Consortium” is accused of receiving additional payments on the basis of fake data while providing waste management services in urban and rural areas.

According to the investigation, the entire system was allegedly affected with the connivance of some IT and operations officials, resulting in a loss of up to Rs 1 billion.

According to sources, the scandal also involved “ghost waste enclosures” and fictitious employees, who were shown in the records to receive illegal payments.

Anti-corruption authorities have registered a case against several individuals, including the former CEO/MDFWMC, various managers, procurement officers, sanitary inspectors and contractors, under various sections of the Pakistan Penal Code.

On the other hand, Punjab Minister for Information and Culture Uzma Bukhari has said that the alleged irregularities in the Suthra Punjab programme were detected in a timely manner through a modern digital dashboard monitoring system.

She said that the Punjab Chief Minister himself took notice of the matter and ordered immediate action, and a special audit team was sent to the field.

According to them, the investigation has revealed systematic collusion between contractors and some government officials, and immediate action has been taken.

According to officials, this case shows the risks of possible corruption despite digital monitoring in government projects, on which further investigation is underway.