President orders restoration of WAPDA special grant

Alvi says delinquent officials unjustly stopping welfare grant to a PWD

ISLAMABAD:

President Dr Arif Alvi has directed Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) to immediately pay and restore a welfare grant to a retired employee’s special child from the date of its discontinuation.

He also ordered Wapda to initiate disciplinary proceedings against delinquent officials who decided to stop the welfare grant despite the fact that the grant had been issued for life after fulfilling the required criteria, President Secretariat Press Wing said in a statement on Saturday.

While accepting a representation of Syed Noor Ali Zaidi (the complainant) against Wafaqi Mohtasib’s decision, the president said that the delinquent officials caused an embarrassing situation, not only for the family of a retired employee but also for Wapda by unjustly stopping the welfare grant to a person with disability (PWD) who had been declared unemployable for life and was totally dependent on his parents.

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He said that Wapda should contact the Ministry of Human Rights, which had a definite programme to teach more than 50 skill sets to PWDs and later link them to possible employers.

He stressed that on such issues, it was the responsibility of institutions like Wapda to guide PWDs, take social responsibility, and ensure that they become employable.

As per details, the complainant had alleged before Wafaqi Mohtasib that he was a special child of a retired employee of Wapda, that the medical board had declared him unemployable for life and recommended him for Wapda Welfare Fund under the rules.