‘Upgradation orders issued to avoid delay’

A spokesman for Rescue 1122 has said that Director General Punjab Emergency Service Rizwan Naseer had to issue upgradation order of officers to avoid a delay and it has been endorsed by the finance department.

The spokesperson said in a statement issued in response to a report published in The Express Tribune that the Punjab Emergency Council has only met four times and the service regulations to be approved by it remain pending.

Similarly, cases for regularisation of the staff are pending in home department from several years, causing disgruntlement among the staff, he said.

He clarified that there is no conflict with the administrative department in the exercise of powers as these are well defined in the Punjab Emergency Service Act and the same have also been decided in several judgments of the high court that the DG is the appointing/ competent authority for the officers of BS-16 and above under the Punjab Emergency Service Act 2006 and rules framed thereunder.

He further said that the upgradation of officers is individual upgradation after 10 years of satisfactory service.

The post of divisional emergency officer (BS-19) is printed in the Budget Book 2020-21, which was re-designated as regional emergency officer under the Punjab Emergency Service Financial Rules 2007.

Accordingly, the upgraded senior district emergency officers have only been assigned the responsibilities of regional emergency officers and not appointed against the posts.

As the process of upgradation of rescue officers is underway, the district emergency officers (BS-18) was written in the order of their transfers and it does not mean that the previous orders were reverted.

The senior officers (BS-18) were transferred to other districts to continue the process of salaries and subsequent personal upgradation.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 29^th, 2020.