MUZAFFARGARH: The Punjab AntiCorruption Established (ACE) director general has issued orders for arrest the six more executive engineers (EX ENs) of the irrigation department on charges of corruption in the solar tubewell scam in Muzaffargarh canal lining project. Three engineers are already in custody in the case.

During the canal lining project, 35 solar tube wells were to be inst alle d to remove water logging at a cost of Rs70m but tube wells were not installed there while the officials concerned sold them and embezzled the amount.

The ACE registered the case against the officials concerned and on Friday an SDO and two sub-engineers of irrigation department Kot Addu were arrested.

According to details,the case was registered with ACE Muzaffargarh circle against SDO Muhammad Ajmal Raza and sub-engineers Tougeer Raza and Mazahr Hussain for selling solar tube wells. ACE circle officer Muhammad Ramzan arrested all three of them.

Those arrested suspects were produced before the court, which gave the ACE three-day physical remand for the suspectsfortherecovery of Rs70m loss.

The department sent a letter to the ACE DG in Lahore for the arrest of six more EXENs, namely Hafeez Baloch, Mahboob Rabbani, Usman Bhatti, Abdul Wahid, Adil Javed and Jam Imran, and the DG issued orders for action against them.

The canal lining project was spearheaded by former foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar after becoming an MNA as she had promised to carry out the project worth Rs6bn.