Project directorates: officers/employees getting hefty allowances, salaries

Despite facing financial crisis due to losses of recent heavy rains, Sindh government has not curtailed non-development expenditures and the Officers/employees posted at offices of Project Directorates of various projects are minting money in the heads of hefty allowances and salaries.
Well-placed sources of Planning and Development (P&D) department told Business Recorder that officers and employees working in project directorate of Hyderabad Development Package (HDP) are getting hefty allowances and salaries. According to the document available with Business Recorder, the Project Director of HDP an officer of BPS 20, is getting Rs 135,886 in the head of various allowances including Rs 50,000 of project allowance, house rent allowance, medical allowance, conveyance allowance, special relief allowance, ad hoc relief fund, special action allowance and ad hoc relief allowance. While, the salary of this officer is also Rs 135,886.
The two Deputy Project Directors, one Technical Officer and one Director (Finance), all of BPS 19, are drawing Rs 114,168 in the head of said allowances. These three officers are also getting Rs 114,168 each in the head of salaries. Besides, two project engineers are getting Rs 86,659 each in the head of said allowances while they are drawing Rs 173,318 each in the head of salaries, document mentioned.
Two assistant project engineers are getting Rs 74,894 each in the head of various allowances while they use to draw Rs 149,788 in the head of salaries. One accounts officer (BPS 17) is getting Rs 65,093 in the head of various allowances while his salary is Rs 65,093, document stated.
Similarly, remaining officers/employees including Accountant, Superintendent, Quantity Surveyor and others are also minting money in the head of various allowances and salaries, document revealed. Document further stated that P&D department had approved Rs 107.400 million for the establishment of project directorate of the said project. Later, the cost of project was revised as Rs 129.050 million.
The cost of said project is also re-revised and now the cost has reached Rs 215.636 million, document mentioned. The original cost of salaries and allowances of staff is Rs 70.156 million, which has been revised and reached Rs 91.39 million and after the re-revising it reached Rs 176.329 million, document said.
Thirty-eight officers/employees are working in the project directorate of HDP; they are getting hefty salaries plus allowances in comparison of other officers/employees working on other normal pots. The total cost of Hyderabad Development Package (HDP) is Rs 10,000 million, Rs 5,000 million has been added by Sindh while remaining Rs 5,000 million would be funded by the Federal Government.
HDP has been initiated in 2005-06 so that all officers and employees are getting hefty salaries and allowances since last six years and the project would be completed in 2015, document further mentioned. A high level officer of P&D told Business Recorder that Punjab government has abolished hefty project allowances for its officials in order to curtail non-development expenditures of provincial government but Sindh government despite facing financial crisis has not taken any decision in this regard, he added. He said that not only the this project, but also there are many projects running under the umbrella of Sindh and Federal Government and officers posted there, are minting money in the head of various allowances.