On unsteady ground: K-P planning cell officers continue fearing for jobs

Services of these key employees have yet to be regularised, despite SC’s decision

PESHAWAR: A Supreme Court decision last month on the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government’s policy to regularise its contractual employee spread a ray of hope among dozens of officers and subordinate staff in planning cells of various departments.

The apex court decided the provincial government cannot adopt a cherry picking policy to regularise employees of certain departments, while terminating the services of others. It was hearing a case of the agriculture department’s employees.

Government employees working in planning cells of departments hoped for their regularisation after the verdict. This was especially in light of the fact the provincial administration had already regularised the services of health and education employees.

“The irony is that professionals, who plan for the government, are on contract and feel insecure because the boss can terminate services with the stroke of a pen,” said an official of Planning and Development Department. He has been working on a capacity-building project with the department for over 13 years.

“All the development related work is done in planning cells, but employees working in these bodies get nothing but verbal appreciations from secretaries and the additional chief secretary.”

For a secure job

The official added they have no service structure and consequently no promotions. This is coupled with job insecurity, while all the pressure work is done by the planning cells.

“The government will have financial benefits if it makes us regular employees with proper a service structure,” said the official. He explained employees working in planning cells or projects took greater salaries than regular employees. He said pays would reduce by almost 40%. “Moreover, it will end the government’s financial expenses paid to its regular officers who work in projects on deputation to get perks of the project allowance.”

He added it would also grant the satisfaction of job security for employees and post-retirement benefits. The official added the government will not have to bear the burden of paying hefty project allowances.



Another official of the Energy and Power Department’s planning cell said these entities were started by the government after the year 2000. At the time, authorities circulated an advertisement in newspapers to recruit chief planning officers (CPO). When the K-P Esta was formulated, each department started hiring their own project or contract employees.

The official said recruitment is more transparent and competitive than the K-P Public Service Commission. “Employees are recruited through a proper test and interview and the slots are properly advertised. The secretaries of finance, planning and development, establishment and the department concerned conduct the interview.”

Planners Association President Syed Bilal Khisro wanted the government to streamline and restructure the P&D department and planning cells of others on the provincial and district level to make them more efficient and equipped to deal with modern world challenges.

“We have told the chief minister to seriously look into the planning cadre regularisation issue,” Khisro said. He believed the planning cells were more important for a department than other staff. “Departments can be run without a secretary, but not a planning cell and its staff.”

“We want the government to take steps to improve planning cells’ professional skills and capacity building apart from assuring proper service structures.”

Published in The Express Tribune, June 13^th, 2016.