LDA plans to allow deputation of one-third officers

LAHORE:Lahore Development Authority (LDA) has planned to allow deputation of one third of the total posts in grade 17 and above.

LDA sources said the move, if implemented, would end the service career of a large number of LDA’s own employees whose promotions were already stopped due to the appointment of officers on deputation at higher designations.

Sources claimed that a summary of new deputation policy was made but kept secret among the LDA director finance, director administration and LDA director general. Sources claimed that the LDA DG would present the summary before Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar in the LDA meeting to be held on March 19 (today).

Sources said the agenda of the meeting was deliberately not released to avoid any litigation by the LDA’s own officers before approval of the new deputation policy. Under the new policy, the LDA will open the door of ‘opportunities’ for officers on deputation, said a senior LDA official on the condition of anonymity. He said that the new policy had sent chilling waves in the spines of LDA’s own officers.

Another senior LDA official, seeking anonymity, told this scribe that the whole issue was kept secret from others and only three persons were involved in making this summary.

“The first is DG LDA, second is director finance and third is director administration,” the official said and revealed that both the director finance and director administration were posted in LDA on deputation.

Background of this secret summary was that some months back LDA’s own officers filed a case in Lahore High Court against the appointment of outsiders (the officers from S&GAD) on majority of the top seats of the authority.

They in their case pleaded that due to the posting of the officers on deputation in the authority, the LDA’s own employees were facing problems in their promotions. Recently, following the orders of LHC, the LDA issued notifications of repatriation of several officers working in LDA on deputation to their parent departments.

However, many officers were still working in LDA while some of those whose orders of repatriation were issued didn’t leave the charge while some were still using LDA’s vehicles and petrol cards, sources claimed.

According to the Section 8 of the LDA Act 1975, the DG shall be appointed by government while under Section 11 of the same Act the authority may appoint officers, advisers, experts, consultants and employees as it considered necessary for the efficient performance of its functions. Traditionally in the past, three to four officers were posted in LDA on deputation but slowly the number of such officers increased and now over a dozen officers were working in LDA on top slots.

LDA’s Officers’ Association President Syed Habban Muhammad Subahi while talking with the scribe said that the issue of postings of officers in LDA on deputation was already sub judice and LDA management can’t make any change to this. He said if this was done, the association would challenge the decision at all appropriate forums, including courts.

When contacted, LDA Vice-Chairman SM Imran said the matter was kept secret from him. He said he had introduced a system of accountability in LDA but those appointed in LDA on deputation didn’t come under this system as LDA was not their appointing authority and can’t take action against them when needed.

LDA Director Administration Nawaz Gondal said that no deputation policy existed in LDA so a new policy was made to streamline things. He said that in the new policy, no government officer would be posted in LDA on deputation for more than two terms in his entire service. He said this will stop the way of the repeaters who were in LDA for the past several years.

Gondal confirmed that the limit of posting of officers on deputation in LDA was fixed to one third of the employees. He, however, claimed that at one time eight to ten officers would serve in LDA on deputation. To a question that the LDA’s own officers were feeling threatened from this clause, he said it was in their favour as earlier there was no limit to the entry of officers on deputation in LDA.

Answering another question about not issuing the agenda of the meeting, he said it was not issued due to lack of time. Gondal confirmed that the LDA DG will present the policy to the chief minister and now it was up to the chief minister to approve it or not.

The scribe made repeated calls to LDA DG Ahmed Aziz Tarar but he didn’t attend the phone. The scribe also sent him SMS about the news but he didn’t reply till the filing of this report.