June 29, 2008	Sunday	Jamadi-us-Sani 24, 1429

PESHAWAR, June 28: The NWFP government has replaced the director-general of City Development and Municipal Department (CD&MD) with immediate effect.

According to a notification issued here on Friday night, Qazi Laiq Ahmad, a grade-19 officer currently working as director-finance CD&MD, has been transferred and posted as director-general of the entity.

Jan Ali, a grade 20 officer from the defunct Provincial Urban Development Board, has been relieved from the same post and directed to report to the Local Government and Rural Development Department.

The post of director-general CD&MD is of grade 20 and placement of a one step junior officer is likely to raise many eyebrows in days to come.

According to ESTACOD -- a compendium of laws, rules and instructions relating to the terms and conditions of provincial civil servants -- posting of junior officers on senior positions is a violation of the NWFP Civil Servant Act 1973. Section-9 of the Act, which deals with posting, promotion and transfers of the officials, prohibits posting of junior officers against one step senior position.