Never say die: the PST is staffed by retired officials
All seven people working at the Punjab Services Tribunal (PST) are retired officials working on extended contracts.
LAHORE:
All seven people working at the Punjab Services Tribunal (PST) are retired officials working on extended contracts.
Among the seven beneficiaries, one is a retired judge, four belong to the District Management Group (DMG) and two to the Police Service of Pakistan (PSP). According to sources, apart from salaries, the tribunal members and chairperson get new Toyota 2007 and 2008 model cars, drivers, entertainment allowances and 200 litres of petrol per month. There is no limit on the petrol consumption of the chairperson. Tribunal members also enjoy a month’s vacation in the summer during which period the PST remains closed.
Bad governance
These appointments are in violation of Punjab government’s self-proclaimed good governance drive under which it terminated the contracts of more than 400 retired officers from civil, military and police departments on April 10, 2008 after it came in to power.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government terminated these appointments, saying that retired officers on contract are a burden on the public exchequer and do not make a justifiable contribution in government affairs, an official requesting anonymity said.
Yet, the same government has allocated Rs34.042 million to meet the current expenditures of the PST, staffed entirely by retired officials, for the current financial year 2010-11. This translates into Rs4.8 million spent on every retired officer working on a contract in the PST. Moreover, 72 subordinates have been posted to help these men.
Waiting in line
Meanwhile, as many as 15 in-service officers of Basic Scale 20 and 21 are awaiting posting as Official on Special Duty (OSD) in Services and General Administration Department (S&GAD) for the last many months.
The PST was established under the Public Service Tribunals Act 1974 to address any grievances civil servants might have regarding termination of services or penalties. Normally, not more than 3,000 aggrieved government employees file appeals against their departments annually with the PST. About 90 per cent of these are filed by police officials.
As per the act, the governor of Punjab, on the recommendation of the chief minister, can appoint PST members and chairperson. Normally in-service officers of Basic Scale 20 of provincial cadres and DMG are posted in the PST.
According to an official, the appointment of retired officers was very rare in the past. He claims that the performance of in-service officers is always better as retired officers do not have the same fear of checks and balances via annual confidential reports.
The current chairman, Justice (Retd) Muhammad Jahangir Arshed, was appointed in 2009 with a special pay package while Muhammad Riaz Chaudhary, a retired DIG of police, is also working on a three-year contract.
Occupying government residences
Meanwhile, the four retired DMG officers working in the PST have illegally retained official residences in Government Official Residence I.
Talat Mehmood Tariq, a retired PSP officer of Basic Scale 21, was awarded contract appointment in the PST in March 2009 for three years a day after he retired from the post of additional inspector general of police.
Meanwhile, Zafar Iqbal, a retired DMG officer of Basic Scale 21, was appointed member PST on contract in March 2009 for three years. He is residing at 11 Golf Lane Government Officers Residence I in violation of the allotment policy issued by the S&GAD. The house had been allotted to Muhammad Imtiaz Tajwar, another DMG officer, in November 2008 but is still occupied by Iqbal.
Syed Muhammad Hamid, another retired DMG officer of Basic Scale 21, was awarded contract appointment in the PST in October 2009 for three years. Hamid is living at 5 Danepur Lane Government Officers Residence I against regulations. The house was allotted to Haseeb Athar in February 2010 but Hamid has not vacated it.
And Muhammad Ayub Malik, a retired DMG officer of Basic Scale 20, was given contract appointment in the PST in March 2009. Though he retired from regular service in January 2008, he is still residing at the official residence 12 Danepur Lane Government Officers Residence I in violation of allotment policy.
Another retired officer who was accommodated in the PST was Ijaz Ali Zaigham from the DMG. He was also awarded a three-year contract. Zaigham is living at 10 Golf Road Government Officers Residence I.
According to the Allotment Policy, “No re-employed person shall be entitled to the allotment or retention of an official accommodation beyond the permissible retention period allowed on retirement/superannuation which is six months”.
The president of the Provincial Management Services Association Rai Manzoor Nasir says that these retired officers want to live on the government’s money even after retirement. Nasir says that the government should terminate the contract of all these officers and appoint in-service officers instead.
These appointments are contrary to good governance and the contracts of these men should be terminated for the government to avoid further criticism.
Secretary S&GAD Jalal Skindar Sultan Raja, however, says that the retired officers were hired on merit according to the rules of the Tribunal.
As for the occupation of official residences, he says there is no provision for that in the terms of employment.
Another officer of the S&GAD, requesting anonymity, says that all the retired officers have been served evacuation notices. They possess these residences illegally, he maintains.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 24th, 2010.
All seven people working at the Punjab Services Tribunal (PST) are retired officials working on extended contracts.
Among the seven beneficiaries, one is a retired judge, four belong to the District Management Group (DMG) and two to the Police Service of Pakistan (PSP). According to sources, apart from salaries, the tribunal members and chairperson get new Toyota 2007 and 2008 model cars, drivers, entertainment allowances and 200 litres of petrol per month. There is no limit on the petrol consumption of the chairperson. Tribunal members also enjoy a month’s vacation in the summer during which period the PST remains closed.
Bad governance
These appointments are in violation of Punjab government’s self-proclaimed good governance drive under which it terminated the contracts of more than 400 retired officers from civil, military and police departments on April 10, 2008 after it came in to power.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government terminated these appointments, saying that retired officers on contract are a burden on the public exchequer and do not make a justifiable contribution in government affairs, an official requesting anonymity said.
Yet, the same government has allocated Rs34.042 million to meet the current expenditures of the PST, staffed entirely by retired officials, for the current financial year 2010-11. This translates into Rs4.8 million spent on every retired officer working on a contract in the PST. Moreover, 72 subordinates have been posted to help these men.
Waiting in line
Meanwhile, as many as 15 in-service officers of Basic Scale 20 and 21 are awaiting posting as Official on Special Duty (OSD) in Services and General Administration Department (S&GAD) for the last many months.
The PST was established under the Public Service Tribunals Act 1974 to address any grievances civil servants might have regarding termination of services or penalties. Normally, not more than 3,000 aggrieved government employees file appeals against their departments annually with the PST. About 90 per cent of these are filed by police officials.
As per the act, the governor of Punjab, on the recommendation of the chief minister, can appoint PST members and chairperson. Normally in-service officers of Basic Scale 20 of provincial cadres and DMG are posted in the PST.
According to an official, the appointment of retired officers was very rare in the past. He claims that the performance of in-service officers is always better as retired officers do not have the same fear of checks and balances via annual confidential reports.
The current chairman, Justice (Retd) Muhammad Jahangir Arshed, was appointed in 2009 with a special pay package while Muhammad Riaz Chaudhary, a retired DIG of police, is also working on a three-year contract.
Occupying government residences
Meanwhile, the four retired DMG officers working in the PST have illegally retained official residences in Government Official Residence I.
Talat Mehmood Tariq, a retired PSP officer of Basic Scale 21, was awarded contract appointment in the PST in March 2009 for three years a day after he retired from the post of additional inspector general of police.
Meanwhile, Zafar Iqbal, a retired DMG officer of Basic Scale 21, was appointed member PST on contract in March 2009 for three years. He is residing at 11 Golf Lane Government Officers Residence I in violation of the allotment policy issued by the S&GAD. The house had been allotted to Muhammad Imtiaz Tajwar, another DMG officer, in November 2008 but is still occupied by Iqbal.
Syed Muhammad Hamid, another retired DMG officer of Basic Scale 21, was awarded contract appointment in the PST in October 2009 for three years. Hamid is living at 5 Danepur Lane Government Officers Residence I against regulations. The house was allotted to Haseeb Athar in February 2010 but Hamid has not vacated it.
And Muhammad Ayub Malik, a retired DMG officer of Basic Scale 20, was given contract appointment in the PST in March 2009. Though he retired from regular service in January 2008, he is still residing at the official residence 12 Danepur Lane Government Officers Residence I in violation of allotment policy.
Another retired officer who was accommodated in the PST was Ijaz Ali Zaigham from the DMG. He was also awarded a three-year contract. Zaigham is living at 10 Golf Road Government Officers Residence I.
According to the Allotment Policy, “No re-employed person shall be entitled to the allotment or retention of an official accommodation beyond the permissible retention period allowed on retirement/superannuation which is six months”.
The president of the Provincial Management Services Association Rai Manzoor Nasir says that these retired officers want to live on the government’s money even after retirement. Nasir says that the government should terminate the contract of all these officers and appoint in-service officers instead.
These appointments are contrary to good governance and the contracts of these men should be terminated for the government to avoid further criticism.
Secretary S&GAD Jalal Skindar Sultan Raja, however, says that the retired officers were hired on merit according to the rules of the Tribunal.
As for the occupation of official residences, he says there is no provision for that in the terms of employment.
Another officer of the S&GAD, requesting anonymity, says that all the retired officers have been served evacuation notices. They possess these residences illegally, he maintains.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 24th, 2010.