Promotions: KWSB shows reluctance to implement orders

MOHAMMAD BILAL TAHIR,

KARACHI: In defiance of the clear instructions of Supreme Court of Pakistan, the management of Karachi Water & Sewerage Board (KWSB) has shown reluctance in reverting the undue promotions of some of its blue-eyed officers in grades 18 to 20 who got out of turn promotions in the utility, sources told Business Recorder.

Sources said KWSB’s present management was targeting only low cadre employees and has closed its eyes on officers in higher grades. They said disregarding the recommendations of DPC-II was highly objectionable. In case same judgment is applied retrospectively from 1992, the recommendations of DPC-I (2012) would become automatically null and void.

Sources said that KWSB had created more than 100s of post in BS-20, 19, 18 and 17 without the formal approval of Sindh government but the same posts were considered in the DPC-I and many officers were promoted on the posts which did not exist.

Sources said that post of Deputy Managing Director (DMD) Finance (Mirajuddin), DMD HRDA&A (Syed Mohammad Shakeel) and DMD Recovery and Revenue Generation (RRG) (Mohammad Aslam) had to be reverted after the instructions of apex court but the KWSB HR department did not mention their names in 1200 employees list who were demoted after SC orders. KWSB had submitted the list of 1200 employees to the chief Secretary Sindh in compliance with the judgment, dated June 12, 2013 passed by Supreme Court in which apex court had declared out of turn promotions of officers from 1994 and onwards null and void.

“The management is targeting only low grade employees while employees fall in high grades are enjoying full support of management due to reasons better known to utility’s administration,” official inside KWSB told this correspondent.

Though the management of KWSB submitted the list of 1200 employees, demoted to their previous grades after SC orders, to Chief Secretary but the sources said that KWSB has re-awarded the posts to three of its blue-eyed officers Shahzad Ahmed (BS-18), Imdad Magsi (BS-19) and Imtiaz Magsi (BS-19) after they were demoted to BS-17, BS-18 and BS-18 respectively.

Interestingly, the management of KWSB did not formally intimate the Chief Secretary Sindh about the decision taken on the above mentioned officers. “The management of water utility was bound to inform the Chief Secretary Sindh about any promotion he made in grade 17 and above. But in the case these officers, KWSB’s rules of procedure were ignored by the top management of water utility,” official said.

Syed Mohsin Raza, General Secretary PLU has demanded a high level inquiry into the affairs of KWSB’s Human Resource department. He also suggested conducting verification of educational credentials of all employees from BS-1 to BS-20 to improve the efficiency of the department to manifolds.