KARACHI: Rules, ban flouted in wildlife dept recruitment
By Bhagwandas
KARACHI, Nov 29: More than 40 people have been appointed in the Sindh Wildlife Department ignoring rules and the ban on appointments, it is learnt.
According to sources, the recruitment in basic pay scales (BPS) from 1 to 11 were made in two phases -- one in the last couple of days of the previous government and the other a few weeks earlier.
The sources said that merit and regulations had not been followed while carrying out the recruitment on permanent as well as tenure-based posts in the development projects of the SWD. The appointments have political implications for the coming elections.
The sources said that during the first recruitment drive about 35 people were appointed in the hiring process held at the SWD’s Hyderabad office when Dr Fahmida Firdous was the department’s deputy conservator there.
The recruitment, which was carried out during the ban on employment, included 13 posts in Dadu district, 12 in Thatta district and eight in Tharparkar district. Soon after the recruitment, the SWD realising the irregularity immediately transferred the Hyderabad deputy conservator to Karachi and also ordered that an inquiry be instituted into the unsatisfactory development works carried out in different development projects during her tenure. The inquiry is yet to begin, though one of the inquiry officers has since retired.
The sources said the post of Hyderabad deputy conservator was in BPS 18 and the new incumbent, Saeed Akhtar Baloch, is a grade 17 officer. Dr Fahmida, though transferred to Karachi, is getting the salary against the Hyderabad post. Having a doctorate on turtles, she is looking after the Marine Turtle Conservation project here.
Soon after the recruitment, SWD secretary Mahmood Ahmad Khan, who had earlier been under suspension, was also relieved of his charge.
The sources said that during the second phase of the recruitment drive conducted in the last couple of days of the previous government, at least seven people were appointed. Initially the high departmental officials – Conservator Ghulam Rasool Channa and deputy conservator of Sukkur Hussain Bux Bhaagat – were called to Hyderabad, but later they were directed to come to Karachi.
The depth of the secrecy of the recruitment could be gauged from the fact that it was not carried out at the SWD office, but at a government residence situated at the Teen Talwar on Sunday, when the government offices are closed.
The sources said that the recruitment was carried out when the then Sindh chief secretary, Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi, had told the secretaries and other departmental heads about the recruitment orders being issued by various politicians, when the government was about to be dissolved after completing its tenure, without keeping in view the relevant rules.
He had specifically warned the secretaries and other departmental heads that they would be held responsible if any recruitment was carried out without following the rules. Or even on the orders that had been issued earlier, without getting the orders reviewed again by the chief secretary etc.
Responding to Dawn queries, new Sindh Wildlife Secretary Mahboob Alam Ansari said he could not comment on the issue offhand, and would direct the conservator to provide the relevant information. Conservator Ghulam Rasool Channa, on the other said, said the matter was a government secret, and refused to give any information about the matter.
