SHC directs Sindh govt to ensure advance payment to KMC workers

Workers belonging to Christian community awaiting salaries, pension so they can celebrate Christmas

KARACHI: The provincial government was directed on Wednesday to ensure advance payment of salaries and pensions to the serving and retired workers of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) ahead of Christmas Eve.

A two-judge bench of the Sindh High Court (SHC), comprising justices Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Adnanul Karim Memon, also ordered the provincial chief secretary to get a summary regarding payment of a Rs500million grant in aid from the Sindh government to KMC, signed by the chief minister at the earliest. The bench was hearing a petition regarding the non-payment of salaries and pensions to hundreds of serving and retired workers of KMC. During Wednesday's proceeding, the court was informed that the KMC workers and pensioners, who belong to the Christian religious minority, were awaiting their monthly salaries and pension so that they could celebrate their religious festivity falling on December 25.

The petitioner, Syed Zulfiqar Shah, who is the president of the Sajjan Union, said that a summary for the release of Rs780 million for payment of pension was sent to the CM but the same was yet to be approved by him.

Taking notice of the delays, the bench inquired from the local government secretary (administration) as to when the summary in question will be passed by the provincial chief executive. The judges directed the chief secretary and the CM's principal secretary to get the summary approved by the competent authority within 15 days.  They also directed KMC's municipal commissioner and director-general of the Karachi Development Authority to write a fresh letter to the LG secretary to get the issue resolved pertaining to payment of a Rs500-million grant in aid to the corporation by the provincial government.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 24^th, 2016.