RAWALPINDI: The key administrative posts of the divisional commissioner, directors general Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) and the Park and Horticulture Authority (PHA) are lying vacant with junior officers running day-to-day affairs.

Since the transfer of Commissioner Azmat Mehmood in May, the post has not been filled. The acting charge of the commissioner was given to Deputy Commissioner Talat Mehmood Gondal.

A senior official of the local administration told Dawn that the provincial government was not in a mood to fill the post on a permanent basis.

Absence of commissioner is adding to burden of district admin, says official

He said the performance of the district administration had been affected as the deputy commissioner had to look after the affairs at the divisional level.

He said illegal housing schemes and encroachments in and around the Benazir Bhutto International Airport were the main reason for the transfer of the former commissioner.

So far the main administrative posts could not be filled as the provincial government wanted to appoint the new officers in coordination with a senior leader of the ruling PML-N from Rawalpindi.

The post of the RDA director general has remained vacant since 2014 after the provincial government transferred Chaudhry Naseer to Lahore and gave the acting charge to the then commissioner Zahid Saeed, who is now the chief secretary of Punjab.

The basic reason to hand over the charge of the RDA to the then commissioner was to execute the metro bus project worth Rs44.84 billion. However, after the completion of the mega project, the provincial government did not appoint any permanent director general of the RDA.

At present, Deputy Commissioner Gondal is also holding the posts of the commissioner and the RDA director general.

“Due to the absence of the permanent director general, the RDA has failed to prepare plans for its income generation and is just completing the ongoing development works,” said a senior official of the RDA.

He said the metro planning and traffic engineering department of the RDA did not work out any plan for the future requirements of the city.

On the other hand, the PHA has also been without a head after the recent suspension and arrest of its director general in a corruption case.

“No official has been given the additional charge to run the affairs of the PHA. Though MNA Malik Abrar was appointed as the PHA chairman, it is not an administrative post and he does not take any action on any matter in the absence of the director general,” said a senior official of the PHA.

He said the junior staff had been was running the affairs of the authority for the last one week. Four senior officials of the PHA have also been arrested in the corruption case and are being investigated by the Anti-Corruption Establishment.

The official said after the corruption case, senior officials of the RDA were reluctant to take over as the director general of the PHA.

Another senior official of the local administration said the Punjab government was not making any decisions such as changes in the bureaucracy after the disqualification of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2017