RDA director sacked for ‘abuse of power’

Goraya also facing probe for irregularities in recruitment

RAWALPINDI:

The Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) has removed a top officer from the seat and sent him packing to his parent department following inquiries of alleged corruption and misuse of power, officials said quoting a notification.

RDA Administration and Finance (A&F) Director Khalid Javed Goraya has been removed from his seat on Monday and Director General Ammara Khan has issued the notification in this regard too.

The sacked official, a basic pay scale (BPS) 18 officer, has been directed to report to Services and General Administration Department (S&GAD). A&F Deputy Director Asif Mehmood Janjua has been given the additional charge to replace Goraya immediately as long as his replacement gets appointed, officials said.

The sacked officer was facing inquiries with the anti-corruption unit on irregularities in the recruitment process in the RDA food department.

Goraya had committed professional misconduct as he flouted the departmental orders to terminate the services of two officers, including Land Use and Building Director Jamshed Aftab and Planning Assistant Director Samiullah Niazi.

Instead, he had issued a new order with directions to the officers to report to his office and demoted them to the rank of officer-on-special-duty (OSD).

RDA had removed Aftab and Niazi, deployed at its building control and planning department, over allegations of graft and abuse of power.

They had been directed to report to the Housing Urban Development (HUD) and Public Health Engineering (PED) departments in Lahore.

Both officers were facing inquiries by the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) regarding irregularities in housing societies and misuse of power

ACE Rawalpindi Region Director Kanwal Batool had said that corrupt officers had become billionaires and living in huge villas in a lifestyle par above their known sources of income.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 25^th, 2020.