Irrigation Dept: Transfers without CM’s approval

Chief minister had banned transfers in department in June.

LAHORE:

The Irrigation Department has transferred three officers even though the chief minister banned all transfers and postings in the department back in June, The Express Tribune has learnt.

Under the chief minister’s orders, there could be no transfers in the department unless a summary seeking a relaxation in the ban was obtained from the chief minister, said an official with the regulations wing of the Services and General Administration Department.

In July, Irrigation Minister Mian Yawar Zaman visited Mureedke to inspect flood damage.

His vehicle got stuck in some mud during the visit and he suspended Sub Divisional Officer Iftikhar Majeed Mirza and a sub engineer. The department issued the suspension orders and launched a regular inquiry. The SDO was later posted to Sargodha, but he refused to join his new job. In August, Mirza was reinstated and posted as the SDO (buildings division) in Lahore. The department did not initiate an inquiry and posted the official to a dormant post.

In the second week of August, a federal minister complained to the irrigation minister about Faisalabad Sangla Canal SDO Nasir Mehmood Wahla. The department conducted a preliminary probe through a chief engineer and found that the official had been justified in lodging water theft cases against the federal minister’s men, but transferred Wahla from Faisalabad anyway, replacing him with one Imtiaz Hussain.

The Irrigation Department did not obtain the chief minister’s approval for these transfers, the S&GAD official said. A senior Irrigation Department official said that the transfers were made on administrative grounds and the department was empowered to do so.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 4^th, 2013.