CDA starts paying salaries to sanitary workers after protest.

ISLAMABAD -- Sanitation workers associated with a private contractor whose contract was scrapped by city managers on Monday staged a protest outside the civic agency's building for not releasing their salaries.

However, the CDA started paying the salaries to sanitation workers deputed in G-6 on Monday evening.

A few days ago, the CDA board had decided to cancel the contract of the private firm worth Rs650 million per year. According to the CDA, the contract was awarded in a fraudulent manner by Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) in September 2020 when Sheikh Anser Aziz was the mayor.A month after the award of the contract, the sanitation directorate was handed over to the CDA by the federal government. However, the civic agency did not pay any amount to the contractor saying the contract was awarded on the basis of alleged fake documentations.

Civic agency cancelled contract awarded by MCI last year but another firm is yet to be hired

Meanwhile, the contractor continued paying salaries to the sanitation staff through his own arrangements till December.Dozens of sanitation workers gathered outside the CDA building and chanted slogans, demanding release of their salaries of last month. During the protest, the main gate of the civic agency remained blocked. The protesters dispersed when they were assured that they would be paid the salaries by the evening.

Till Monday evening, the workers deputed in G-6 were given their dues and those working in other areas will be paid on Tuesday, said the CDA.

An officer of CDA said the civic agency had decided to send the case of the contract to Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for a probe.

After deciding to cancel the...