City government gets its most junior boss

Punjab govt appoints a BS-18 District Management Group officer as DCO of Lahore.


Anwer Sumra October 15, 2010

LAHORE: The Punjab government has appointed a BS-18 District Management Group (DMG) officer as district coordination officer (DCO) of Lahore, an office reserved for BS-21 officers.

The new DCO, Ahad Khan Cheema, becomes the boss of over a dozen DMG and Provincial Management Service (PMS) officers in BS-19 and BS-20. Cheema is already facing a Lahore High Court case over his posting as secretary of the Higher Education Department, a post reserved for BS-20 or BS-21 officers.

On Thursday, the Services and General Administration Department (S&GAD) issued a formal notification removing Sajjad Ahmed Bhutta as DCO and making him an officer on special duty (OSD). A half-hour later, the department amended the order and posted Bhutta as chief economist in the Planning and Development Board, Punjab. Bhutta, who has a masters degree in English, never studied economics in his academic career. Cheema’s posting as head of the civil administration appears to be a violation of Section 28 of the Local Government Ordinance, 2001. It reads: “In every district, the government shall appoint a DCO who shall be a civil servant of the federation or of the province, in as far as possible in BS-20. Provided that in a city district government, the DCO may be a civil servant in BS-21.”

Cheema will be the most junior DCO since the ordinance was promulgated.

The new DCO, who has served as secretary of the Higher Education Department for over a year, is not scheduled for promotion to BS-19 until 2013. He has not yet attended a mid-career management course, which is mandatory for promotion to BS-19.

He will now have authority over senior officers, such as the director general of the Lahore Development Authority, Umer Rasool, who is a BS-20 DMG officer; the DG of the Parks and Horticulture Authority, Abdul Jabber Shaheen, who is a DMG officer in BS-19; and the executive district officer for Finance and Planning, Lahore, who is a DMG officer in BS-19.

According to official records, there are 13 BS 19-21 officers awaiting posting orders from the S&GAD.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 15th, 2010.

COMMENTS (1)

Salik Mahmood | 13 years ago | Reply According to my point of view, it is not so bad if any competent and honest officer is posted as DCO or on any other post.But I don't know that Mr Cheema is so competent officer or not that he is posted on such an important post. But on the other hand it is also important to follow the Law and officers must be posted according to rules of posting.
Replying to X

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.

For more information, please see our Comments FAQ