ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi has directed Wapda to immediately pay/restore the welfare grant to a retired employee’s special child from the date of its discontinuation.
He also ordered Wapda to initiate disciplinary proceedings against delinquent officials who decided to stop the welfare grant despite the fact that the grant had been issued for life after fulfilling the required criteria.
While accepting a representation of Syed Noor Ali Zaidi (the complainant) against Wafaqi Mohtasib’s decision, the President said that the delinquent officials caused an embarrassing situation, not only for the family of a retired employee but also for Wapda by unjustly stopping the welfare grant to a Person With Disability (PWD) who had been declared unemployable for life and was totally dependent on his parents.
He said that Wapda should contact the Ministry of Human Rights, which had a definite programme to teach more than 50 skill sets to PWDs and later link them to possible employers. He stressed that on such issues, it was the responsibility of institutions like Wapda to guide PWDs, take social responsibility, and ensure that they become employable.
As per details, the complainant had alleged before Wafaqi Mohtasib that he was a special child of a retired employee of Wapda, that the Medical Board had declared him unemployable for life and recommended him for Wapda Welfare Fund (WWF) under the rules. According to him, he was getting the welfare grant regularly until he attained the age of 21 when Wapda struck his name off from the Wapda medical treatment book. Feeling aggrieved, he approached Wafaqi Mohtasib, who passed the order that Wapda did not commit any maladministration as the complainant was 30 years of age and was not entitled to the free medical facility and welfare grant, as per rules. Feeling aggrieved, the complainant raised the matter with the President by filing a representation against the Mohtasib’s order.
The President in his decision observed that a few key facts had escaped the notice of the Wafaqi Mohtasib, which established that the complainant was entitled to the welfare grant. He pointed out that the complainant had been declared by Wapda’s own Medical Board as “Deaf and Dumb since birth”, “unemployable for life” and “totally dependent on his parents” in 1996. He further observed that the Managing Committee of WWF had sanctioned a welfare grant for life for the complainant in 1996.
He also referred to WWF Rules which provided for the provision of welfare grants to special children of Wapda employees subject to the provision of medical certificates.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024