HYDERABAD, July 15: The fate of around 140 newly-promoted employees of the taluka municipal administration (TMA) city, hangs in balance following cancellation of their promotions by the taluka municipal officer (TMO) city, Asadullah Rajput, amidst claims of employees that the TMO has no powers under Sindh Local Government Ordinance, 2001, to cancel promotions as they were in accordance with the provisions of the SLGO 2001 vested in the taluka nazim.

Inquiries conducted by Dawn on Friday revealed that without conducting formal inquiry the TMO issued fresh cancellation orders of promotions of around 140 employees on July 9 with a request to the Assistant Director, Local Fund Audit, Hyderabad, to cancel fixation of pay of “illegal promotions and re-fix the salaries as they were drawing before their promotions.

He called for recovery of the amount in easy installments which the employees have drawn on account of promotions.

“The interesting point to note is that employees, being dubbed as ‘illegal promotees’ by the TMO in his letter, have been asked to work where they are working at present on their personal pay and scale without claiming any additional allowance and draw there salaries for the post before their illegal promotions”, sources said.

It goes to suggest that the TMA needed these officials for want of work in different posts but without holding inquiry or DPC (departmental promotion committee) promotions were cancelled with one stroke of pen.

It would be relevant to mention here that the Adviser to the Sindh Chief Minister for Local Bodies , Waseem Akhtar on June 13 during his press conference had said that he has ordered an inquiry into the illegal promotions and after inquiry the cases would be decided.

However, despite lapse of one month neither any inquiry was conducted nor fresh DPC was held. Initially, through an order dated May 10 the TMO had cancelled promotion of 126 employees under directives of provincial local government department which caused great unrest among employees, who, had been awaiting their promotion for past 32 years.

The employees had protested against the decision and had closed offices, claiming that TMO has no authority to cancel promotion under SLGO 2001.

The promotion-related controversy involving outgoing Taluka Nazim Moinuddin Sheikh and TMO dates back to March 2003 when then Sindh local bodies minister through a telephonic order, asked then DCO Hyderabad Mukhtiar Ahmed Aziz on March 27,2003 to suspended DPC “for the time being”.

Barring this verbal telephonic order there was no other written directive of local government department for DPC’s suspension.

However, the Taluka Nazim allowed promotions subject to confirmation by DPC and after entertaining objections of other senior workers.

Of 126 cases, only nine appeals were filed against promotions, two of them were decided in favour of appellants while seven were yet to be decided.

Following bifurcation of defunct HMC into three TMAs, leading to distribution of staff of all cadres among TMAs, promotion became necessary on various important posts for smooth working of TMAs. They said that under same provision the TMO city has same powers for offices of BPS-15 and below.

The TMA made repeated requests to the local bodies’ minister for restoration of the DPC but to no avail. But the ban continued in case of TMA city while TMA Latifabad held its DPC for promotions.