Circular logic: In CDA, leading source of complaints made chief complaint officer

Official referred to as ‘king’ of HRD under investigation for illegal recruitment, forgery, other charges.

ISLAMABAD:

After assuming office, the incumbent management of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) took an unofficial position— put up with incompetent officers, but not ‘tainted ones’.

But with the passage of time, the management saw the bitter truth — only a handful of officers in the agency enjoy a good reputation. With that realisation, the management seems to have abandoned the policy.

A recent example is the posting of a deputy director as chief complaint officer. In addition to this duty, the officer has also been made custodian of cases related to litigations and inquiries, attaching him with the confidential cell of the Human Resources Directorate (HRD).

Abdur Razzaq, a ‘seasoned’ CDA cadre officer, is referred to by CDA employees as the ‘king’ of HRD-related matters. He has been serving in the HRD for the last eight years and had never been transferred to another directorate, a rarity to say the least.

The incumbent management had sent him to the Estate Management wing a few weeks back, but he managed to get himself posted back to HRD within days.

During the previous PPP regime, when politicians wanted to ‘help out’ their near and dear ones, Razzaq used to suggest ways. With his help, hundreds of political appointees made their way to higher scales within days.

In government service, two separate terms — redesignation and upgradation of posts — are rarely used. “Sometimes, to benefit lower-grade employees who are on dead-end posts such as tube well operators, the posts are upgraded. It gives a salary increase to the employee, but the job title remains the same,” an official said.

This and other similar government service rules were abused to the benefit of hundreds of employees during the PPP regime, and Razzaq was behind it. But, it did not end here. Razaq also came up with the novel idea of simultaneous redesignation-upgradation of some posts at the same time.

Meanwhile, there is the case of Tanvir Hashmi, currently under investigation by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). Hashmi, a former PTCL employee who was appointed as a BS-18 accounts officer in the CDA on deputation, was permanently absorbed by the agency. Later, it was found Hashmi had gotten early retirement from PTCL and had produced forged documents to get the CDA job.

The man who facilitated Hashmi’s recruitment was none other than Razzaq, who is also being looked into by the FIA. Hashmi is currently on the run, and the FIA has yet to recover Rs1.8 million that Hashmi took from the CDA as a house building loan, or the government vehicle still in his possession. Sources say the FIA is about to register an FIR against all the accused, including Razzaq.

“Fitting. The man who was at the centre of all complaints in the past is now the chief complaint officer,” quipped an HR directorate official.

When contacted, Razzaq admitted he is one of the accused in the Tanvir Hashmi case. “The other day we appeared before the investigators,” he said, adding he did not know if FIA was going to order the registration of an FIR against him and the other accused. He also said he had nothing to do with the upgradations and or redesignations made during the PPP government.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 26^th, 2014.