Govt employees move SHC against pay cut for flood relief fund

A petition has been filed with the Sindh High Court against the deduction of salaries of two to five days of Sindh government employees for the purpose of the provincial flood relief fund.

The petitioners, Dr Mohammad Ali Talho and others, submitted in their plea that the provincial finance department had issued a letter on August 24 regarding the establishment of the Sindh Flood Relief Fund for the people affected by torrential rains and flash floods throughout the province and two-to-five-day salary of government servants would be deposited in the relief fund.

They submitted that the finance department’s impugned letter was unlawful with regard to the deduction of five-day salary of officers of grade 17 and above, and two-day salary of officers from grade 1 till 16.

They submitted that after the change of regime in the country, inflation had exorbitantly increased in the last four months and the present salaries of the petitioners and other government employees were insufficient for their needs.

They submitted that the income of civil servants was dependent on their salary and they had to pay liabilities and maintain their family from that source, due to which such type of forceful deduction of the salary of an employee without his or her consent was unwarranted and unconstitutional.

They submitted that massive and huge floods had also spread in other provinces but their governments had not taken such action. The petitioners requested the SHC to declare the finance department’s letter with regard to the deduction from the salaries of government employees to be unlawful and liable to be set aside.

Water connection for hospital

The SHC ordered the Karachi Water & Sewerage Board (KWSB) and others to maintain the status quo with regard to the allocation of a water supply line to a private hospital in the North Nazimabad neighbourhood.

The interim order came on a petition filed by Khurrum Fiazuddin and others against the allocation of an allegedly illegal water supply line to a private hospital, and the shortage of water for the residents of blocks A, B and F of the neighbourhood.

The petitioners said the KWSB has approved another water supply line for the Ziauddin Hospital, which they claimed already has two illegal connections of soft water, while the residents of blocks A, B and F have been facing acute water shortage due to unavailability of the commodity.

They claimed that the hospital is also going to take an illegal four-inch connection from the main 48-inch pipeline in collusion with the KWSB and the local administration solely for commercial purposes.

They said the hospital is some 1.5 kilometres away from the main pipeline, but instead of getting a connection from a nearby pipeline, they are disturbing the main water pumping station line of the North Nazimabad and Nazimabad areas.

The petitioners’ counsel said that there is no provision under the law that a private individual can be granted a direct connection from the main 48-inch pipeline that is meant to supply water through the pumping station meant for several connections to be given to various blocks.

He said the KWSB and other official respondents dug out the road and connected a four-inch diameter line, instead of a two-inch one, to the main 48-inch pumping line during the late hours.

He added that they have also started digging the road from KDA Chowrangi in North Nazimabad to the Ziauddin Hospital, which is almost 1.5km away, and the work has also been causing a serious nuisance to a number of residents.

The counsel said the petitioners have approached the KWSB and other officials, but instead of paying any heed to the petitioners’ request, they are protecting the respondents, while police officers are threatening the residents and warning them against interfering in the work. He said that there is apprehension among the residents that the allegedly illegal connection will be provided to the hospital, for which the water line will be laid within a short period of time, and it will cause shortage of water supply for a large number of residents of the neighbourhood.

The counsel for the petitioners requested that the court restrain the respondents from digging the road, as well as order them to stop the work concerning the water connection. After the preliminary hearing of the petition, an SHC division bench headed by Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi issued a pre-admission notice to the KWSB, the Sindh advocate general and others, telling them to file their comments on Thursday.

The bench directed the KWSB to provide the details of the relevant record of the subject water connection on the next date of hearing. Until then, said the court, the KWSB and other officials are to maintain the status quo in respect of the subject connection.