Ex-DMG officer’s new job irks PMSA officers
The PST has asked for a Rs4.7m supplementary grant for 2010-11 to cover the expenses incurred by the new office.
LAHORE:
The provincial government has created an expensive new post in the already full-strength Punjab Services Tribunal (PST) in the midst of its much-hyped austerity drive.
The PST has asked for a Rs4.7 million supplementary grant for 2010-11 to cover salary, allowances, utilities and other expenses incurred by the new office and its attached staff, The Express Tribune has learnt. The Punjab government had allocated Rs29.342 million for the tribunal in 2010-11.
Ijaz Ali Zaigham, a former District Management Group (DMG) officer who retired on April 28, has been awarded a two-year contract for the new BS-21 PST post.
“The provincial kitty is facing a severe financial crisis. They have created an additional burden just to accommodate a retired DMG man at an unproductive slot,” said Rai Manzoor Nasir, president of the Provincial Management Services Association (PMSA).
He said the move was questionable considering how the government was slashing development programmes to free up funds for relief and rehabilitation work in flood-hit areas.
Another PMSA officer said the appointment had angered provincial bureaucrats. “The government should just notify that it will hire DMG officers until their last breath,” he said.
The authority to appoint PST members rests with the governor. An official of the Services and General Administration Department (S&Gad) said the governor had appointed Zaigham on the chief minister’s recommendation.
Zaigham has previously served as secretary and commissioner in the Punjab government.
The officials said there were other irregularities concerning the appointment. First, it violated Finance Department directives banning the creation of new posts. The government also banned the purchase of new vehicles as part of its austerity drive.
The appointment also raised concerns about official housing. Zaigham has been living at 10-Golf Road, GOR-I, since September 2001 and is likely to retain his official accommodation for another two years.
If that happens, it will be another violation, of the government’s allotment policy, which says that retired officials must vacate their residences within six months, and can’t retain them even if they are rehired.
S&Gad Secretary Jalal Skindar Sultan Raja was unavailable for comment.
There are 78 sanctioned posts in the PST, the most senior of which is the chairman (he gets a special grade), one member at BS-21 and four members at BS- 20. It now has another BS-21 member.
The PST was set up in 1974 to consider complaints from civil servants against decisions made by departmental authorities with respect to the terms and conditions of their service. The tribunal may confirm, set aside, vary or modify the order appealed against.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 19th, 2010.
The provincial government has created an expensive new post in the already full-strength Punjab Services Tribunal (PST) in the midst of its much-hyped austerity drive.
The PST has asked for a Rs4.7 million supplementary grant for 2010-11 to cover salary, allowances, utilities and other expenses incurred by the new office and its attached staff, The Express Tribune has learnt. The Punjab government had allocated Rs29.342 million for the tribunal in 2010-11.
Ijaz Ali Zaigham, a former District Management Group (DMG) officer who retired on April 28, has been awarded a two-year contract for the new BS-21 PST post.
“The provincial kitty is facing a severe financial crisis. They have created an additional burden just to accommodate a retired DMG man at an unproductive slot,” said Rai Manzoor Nasir, president of the Provincial Management Services Association (PMSA).
He said the move was questionable considering how the government was slashing development programmes to free up funds for relief and rehabilitation work in flood-hit areas.
Another PMSA officer said the appointment had angered provincial bureaucrats. “The government should just notify that it will hire DMG officers until their last breath,” he said.
The authority to appoint PST members rests with the governor. An official of the Services and General Administration Department (S&Gad) said the governor had appointed Zaigham on the chief minister’s recommendation.
Zaigham has previously served as secretary and commissioner in the Punjab government.
The officials said there were other irregularities concerning the appointment. First, it violated Finance Department directives banning the creation of new posts. The government also banned the purchase of new vehicles as part of its austerity drive.
The appointment also raised concerns about official housing. Zaigham has been living at 10-Golf Road, GOR-I, since September 2001 and is likely to retain his official accommodation for another two years.
If that happens, it will be another violation, of the government’s allotment policy, which says that retired officials must vacate their residences within six months, and can’t retain them even if they are rehired.
S&Gad Secretary Jalal Skindar Sultan Raja was unavailable for comment.
There are 78 sanctioned posts in the PST, the most senior of which is the chairman (he gets a special grade), one member at BS-21 and four members at BS- 20. It now has another BS-21 member.
The PST was set up in 1974 to consider complaints from civil servants against decisions made by departmental authorities with respect to the terms and conditions of their service. The tribunal may confirm, set aside, vary or modify the order appealed against.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 19th, 2010.