LAHORE, July 26: A four-member committee has found massive irregularities in multi-million rupees development works in Murree and recommended action against a team of officials handpicked by Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif for the purpose.

The inquiry was ordered by the chief minister early this month and its findings were submitted to him on Tuesday, seeking action against a number of officials, including former tourism secretary and managing director Amir Ashraf Khwaja who was immediately sent to the federal government.

Official sources said the Punjab government would recommend action against Mr Khwaja and another former tourism managing director Mian Wahid, both DMG officers, to the federal government in the light of the report by the committee that was headed by Prosecution Secretary Mr Amlesh. Law Department’s Director Mohsin Syed, Sargodha DCO and S&GAD member (inquiries) were members of the committee.

Mr Khwaja was at present working as P&D member and he was replaced by Naseem Riaz.

The committee had inquired into faults in two new public parks (Bagh-i-Shaheedan and PIA), corruption and dereliction of duty in the upgradation of Patriata chairlift, permission to set up two CNG stations despite a ban and causes of delay in the establishment of a students resource centre and electronic library in Murree. Both parks are located close to the Murree residence of the Sharif family near Kashmir Point.

Sources said findings of the committee were directly sent for the eyes of the chief minister. They said development of the parks involving millions of rupees was entrusted to the Tourism Development Corporation of Punjab despite the fact that it did not have the capacity or ability to do the task.

Development of the park at the 30-kanal land owned by PIA was handed over to Punjab many years ago by PML-N’s Khaqan Abbasi as chairman of the airlines, but work was started without getting an approval of a PC-I (official blueprint of every public sector project) despite a direction by the finance department.

The work on the project (reportedly costing Rs50 million) was started without signing a contract with the executing contractor, which, the sources said, was another violation of the government rules. There were no specifications and even the contractor was released payments in advance. (Payments are made as the project advances so as to make the contractor ensure quality and meet the deadline for fear of losing the funds). Sources said work on the project was started when Mr Wahid was serving as the tourism managing director, and therefore was in charge of the TDCP. At that time Mr Khwaja was serving as tourism secretary and after the departure of Mr Wahid he took over the post of the managing director, directly assuming charge of the development.

Sources said Mr Khwaja said he was not aware of the precondition of getting approved a PC-I and signing a contract and admitted that the job was accepted despite the fact that the tourism department did not have the relevant capacity.

On the contrary, sources said, the same team of officials had got approved a PC-I of the Bagh-i-Shaheedan project (reportedly costing Rs35 million), contradicting its claim of not knowing the legal requirement of doing so for the PIA park.

The major fault of the Bagh-i-Shaheedan project was stated to be an absence of specifications, which meant that the contractor was allowed to do whatever he wanted to. Specifications make contractors work and use material as desired by the government and refrain from using low quality items to purloin funds.

Mr Khwaja reportedly told the committee that the department had accepted the projects for the chief minister.

Sources said where tourism department high ups accepted two projects they could not handle, they ignored the improvement in the Patriata chairlift, the only sources of income for the TDCP.

The TDCP staff gets salaries from the income of the chairlift, but tourism department officials did not install Rs90 million equipment purchased for its improvement two years ago.

The equipment was getting rusted in the tourism department godowns and Mr Khwaja said he was not aware of its presence, sources said.

Sources said the committee found a former Murree administrator allowing two CNG stations at Sunny Bank in Murree despite a clear cut ban on these.

Insiders said Mr Khwaja was once considered the blue-eyed boy of the chief minister who would consider the officer a go-getter. He was so close to the chief minister that he allegedly got changed a former Rawalpindi division commissioner and a DCO, and Mian Wahid. He fell out of favour of the chief minister because of another officer having the same qualities, and might face charges of corruption and inefficiency that the provincial government intended to send to the federal government.