MUZAFFARABAD, Oct 10: The AJK government has placed four officers associated with Jinnah Model Town project of Mirpur Development Authority (MDA) under suspension.

According to a notification issued by Services and General Administration Department, Chaudhry Mohammad Ilyas, chief engineer highways (south)/member technical MDA, Chaudhry Khalid Sultan, director works, MDA, Muzaffar Hussain, deputy director works, MDA and Mohammad Saleem, divisional accountant would face proceedings under Removal from Service (Special Powers) Act, 2001.

Initial charges against the accused officers, according to the notification, were “professional negligence, misconduct, corruption, abuse and misuse of powers, loss of public money, violation of Pakistan Engineering Council Rules and Regulations and Delegation of Financial Power Rules 2011, while awarding and executing the contract of Jinnah Model Town, Mirpur.”

An inquiry officer or inquiry committee will be appointed later along with communication of charges and statement of allegations passed by the competent authority to the accused officers, the notification added. In the same regard, he was also opposed to the appointment of Mirza Javed Iqbal and Chaudhry Ilyas as director-general and member technical, respectively, of MDA. Presumably, due to his complaints to the PPP leadership, Mr Iqbal was shown the door. In last month’s Legislative Assembly session, PML-N legislator Dr Najeeb Naqi had termed Jinnah Model Town a “big scam involving huge corruption”. —Staff Correspondent