ISLAMABAD: The tug of war between the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) over transfer and posting powers has intensified after the CDA told the MCI that it could not transfer CDA employees working under it.

In an official letter, the CDA told the MCI on Monday that until its rules are framed, the local government board is constituted and the MCI system is established, administrative and financial matters including employee transfers will be dealt with by the CDA.

The MCI has called the CDA’s letter illogical and said the authority has no right to tell the MCI what to do.

The CDA human resource department wrote the letter citing minutes of a Senate standing committee meeting. It quoted the committee’s chair and said that CDA employees would continue their services on an attached basis under the temporary administrative control of the MCI.

However, their status would remain CDA employees. the letter said that the transfers, salaries, advances, service records, pensions and so on of CDA employees working under the MCI on an attachment basis are paid and maintained by the CDA, being the parent department and custodian of these employees according to the CDA Employees Service Regulations.

“Therefore, the transfer posting, initiating disciplinary action and other service matter being dealt by MCI will be audit objections as per recommendations of the Senate standing committee,” the letter added.

There are around 11,000 CDA employees whose departments were devolved to the MCI serving under the corporation on an attachment basis.

CDA spokesperson Syed Safdar Ali said the letter was a routine matter written to convey the minutes of the standing committee meeting.

However, Mayor Sheikh Anser Aziz said the CDA has been trying to get control of employees working under the MCI’s administrative control.

“According to the Local Government Act 2015, the mayor is the executive authority to run MCI affairs,” Mr Aziz said, adding that he would look into the CDA letter for a proper response.

“If they are saying the letter was written to convey [the minutes of the] standing committee meeting this seems mala fide, as despite clear cut directions from the Senate standing committee the CDA did not hand over control of 15 departments to the MCI.

“The committee had even directed the CDA to devolve 15 departments within 15 days, but despite the passage of a few months the CDA is not devolving our departments,” he said.

The mayor said the MCI would continue transferring employees working under its administrative control.

When asked about the devolution of departments to the MCI, the CDA spokesperson said the authority had no objection to doing so in accordance with the rules and regulations.

Published in Dawn, September 3rd, 2019