HYDERABAD: The Hyderabad Development Authority is violating with complete impunity directives of Sindh secretary of local government issued in March last year, cancelling the practice of awarding additional charge, look-after charge and own pay scale (OPS) to officials.

Officials from Karachi and other districts were being posted in the authority in violation of directives of superior courts apparently on the request of HDA director general Mohammad Sohail Khan, said sources.

LG Secretary Najam Shah had issued a notification on March 26, 2021, cancelling “assignment of any charge on OPS basis, additional charge(s) and look-after charges”.

The notification required all heads of local councils, directorates, projects, authorities, commissions and boards to provide certificates of compliance with the orders of Sindh High Court. Both the outgoing and the incumbent DG of HDA did not bother to follow this notification.

The sources said that the DG of HDA had brought officers and officials from other LG departments like Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, district municipal corporations, municipal committees and district councils etc.

The LG secretary himself had allowed these deputations on the DG’s request and not only this but officers within HDA were also given ‘additional charges’ of various other posts, said the sources.

The DG defended his actions by saying that he was trying to restructure HDA to bring it at par with Lahore Development Authority (LDA) and Karachi Development Authority (KDA).

“The DG doesn’t know that Karachi Water and Sewerage Board is almost independent but Wasa has been deprived of its financial autonomy through centralisation of HDA and Wasa accounts,” said a Wasa source, adding that centralisation of accounts was not mentioned in HDA Act 1976.

The sources said that a number of new vehicles were being purchased by HDA for the DG, Wasa’s MD and project director at a time when Wasa workers were holding protests, demanding unpaid salaries and pension.

“Contractors receive payments for works regularly while employees are told to wait for approval of summary forwarded by HDA to Sindh government,” said a Wasa worker, adding that one needed to get contractors’ works verified if they were really being executed.

Published in Dawn, March 30th, 2022