By IANS
Islamabad : A highly controversial Rs.3.6 billion project that was initiated in Pakistan to provide nutrition for schoolgirls in 29 districts has ended up playing with the lives of the students, a media report said Sunday.
The Tawana Pakistan Project has been mired in controversies since its launch in 2002.
“Prior to its suspension in 2005, a number of innocent schoolgirls fainted after it was revealed that the medicines given to the 5-12-year-old girls were not only substandard but meant for pregnant women,” The News reported Sunday.
“When the Tawana Pakistan Project was re-launched, it ended up in yet another crisis a few months back for alleged misappropriation of funds and supply of expired milk to students,” the newspaper added.
Now, a federal secretary and three additional secretaries have complained to the government that they were threatened by an allegedly corrupt junior officer who has been described as a “buddy” of a minister in the cabinet of former prime minister Shaukat Aziz when they threatened to expose the wrongdoing.
Identified as Irfanullah, the “buddy”, in turn, has alleged that his seniors have tampered with official records to cook up a case against him to cover up their own “misdeeds”.
“A probe discloses that hundreds of millions (of rupees) have already gone down the drain and the money meant for the poor girls has been used on furniture, fixtures, equipment, etc. A handsome amount of money was spent on mineral water provided to a former federal minister,” The News said.
The ministry of social welfare and special education is now preparing to issue a charge-sheet against the recently removed project director of Tawana. He is not only alleged to have been involved in corruption but also accused of threatening the secretary (social welfare), his additional secretary, an officer who is presently additional secretary (cabinet), and a director general in the ministry.
Government sources and some of the senior officers confirmed to The News that they had been warned against enquiring into the Tawana case.
Aziz and caretaker Prime Minister Muhammadmian Soomro, the sources said, have been informed of the threats and the wrongdoings. The officer who issued the threats was removed but has not reported to his province of service, Balochistan.
Irfanullah “laughed off” the allegations against him.
“Instead, he alleged that some of his former seniors got his house pelted with stones and also managed to steal his official car, which was parked outside his residence in Islamabad,” The News said.
The ministry of social welfare has reportedly sought an external audit of the Tawana project after an internal probe revealed that Irfanullah and some others had committed serious irregularities in terms of administrative and financial discipline.
“These officers tried to utilise public money as much as possible within a short time very lavishly, violating financial rules and regulations which shows their personal motives. It is proposed that disciplinary action may be initiated against them as per the rules,” a ministry document obtained by The News said.
The internal audit revealed that money for the Tawana project was spent for purchasing mineral water for a former minister. This apart, Rs.10 million was spent on constructing VVIP bathrooms and kitchens with modern accessories, Rs.37 million on furniture and fixtures, and Rs.44 million on unauthorised advertisements.