KARACHI: The Sindh cabinet on Monday directed the chief secretary to get domiciles of all newly-appointed policemen verified so that genuine and local people could be recruited.

The cabinet took up the issue of recent recruitment in the police department following complaints that non-local persons had managed to get domicile of Sindh’s urban and rural areas and got themselves appointed.

The same issue has earlier been highlighted by various opposition parties, particularly the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) that had challenged recruitments in government departments on the basis of fake domiciles in the Sindh High Court.

On Monday, the issue came under discussion in the meeting of the cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, who ordered a probe and made clear that the recruitment must be made purely on merit and only for local people.

The cabinet meeting, which lasted for more than five hours, took several decisions.

Okays crowd management unit; wheat procurement to begin from March 15, price set at Rs4,000 per 40kg

Speaking at a media briefing, Sindh government spokesperson and CM’s Law Adviser Murtaza Wahab said the cabinet condemned the Peshawar attack and also expressed solidarity with the earthquake-hit people of Turkiye.

Bill to turn KWSB into corporation

The cabinet approved the Karachi Water & Sewerage Corporation (KWSC) Bill, 2022 with the responsibility of planning & execution of bulk production, supply, and distribution of potable water.

The corporation would have a board and the chairperson of the board would be the Karachi mayor while in his absence the KMC administrator would head it.

It would have seven ex-officio and nine non-official members (academia, civil society, water & sewerage specialists, legal & financial experts) and two MPAs from the Sindh Assembly.

The corporation board would develop and approve strategic plans for water delivery and budget. The body would be managed by a chief executive officer (CEO) appointed by the KWSC board for a period of four years. It would also have a chief operating officer, chief financial officer, chief internal audit officer, and chief IT officer. The cabinet referred the bill to the assembly for legislation.

Expansion of RRF to province

The cabinet was told that the inspector general police had sent a summary for the expansion of the Rapid Response Force (RRF) and the establishment of the Crowd Management Unit (CMU).

Established in 2009, the RRF is an anti-terrorist and anti-dacoits force operating throughout Sindh. In addition to core responsibilities, it provides security to vital installations and VVIPs.

The CM was told that the expansion of the RRF to the entire province would enable district police or other LEAs to respond quickly in case of an emergency.

The CMU is required to respond professionally during a violent public disorder to prevent loss of lives, damage to property and to manage the unruly crowd and maintain the law and order.

The CM directed the home department that in order to avoid financial implications for the expansion of the RRF, new positions should be created by re-appropriating positions of the Sindh Reserve Police (SRP). He also approved expansion of the Rapid Response Force (RRF) throughout the province.

The cabinet also decided that wheat procurement for the new crop would be started from March 15 at Rs4,000 per 40 kg.

The target for procurement would be set in the next cabinet meeting.

The cabinet approved the appointment of former chief secretary Mohammad Siddique Memon and retired officer Raheem Soomro as members (technical) of the Provincial Local Government Commission.

Time scale

The cabinet decided to grant a higher grade on the basis of time-scale for only isolated / non-promotional posts.

The criteria for the award of the time scale would be given to the employees after attaining the five, 12, 19 and 27 years of satisfactory service.

It would be given only one stage above the present pay scale.

These employees of BS-1 would go into BS-2 and after 12 years in grade BS-3, after 19 years in grade BS-4, and after 27 years to BS-5.

In this way, the employees of such categories from BS-1 to BS-15 would get the time scale.

The health department presented a policy of selection criteria for admission in the BS-Nursing (four years) Degree Programme for private sector colleges.

Under the policy, as approved by the cabinet, the local/residents of the province would be given admission on a priority basis, and the seats that remain vacant would be filled on open merit (other than Sindh).

Published in Dawn, February 7th, 2023