NAWABSHAH, Aug 5: The provincial government has asked the officials of defunct Rural Development, Public Health Engineering and Katchi Abadis Departments working under Local Government Department to report at their parent departments where they had been serving before devolution of powers was effected about eight years ago, says an official order.

The secretary of local government ordered all the officers and officials of the above-mentioned departments who had been serving under Local Government Department to report to their parent departments.

The order has sent shockwaves through the officials working in taluka municipal administrations and union councils. An official notification issued on Oct 18, 2002 had devolved 87 sub-divisions of the departments and merged them into TMAs under section 52 of Sindh Local Government Ordinance (SLGO) and given 16 sub-divisions under the control of Directorate General (Technical) Local Government Department to set up District Support Units.

The notification had said that “Consequent upon the promulgation of SLGO 2001, establishment of Directorate General (Technical) Local Government Department with the approval of competent authority as well as entrustment of administrative and financial management of certain offices of Local Government, RDD and PHE Department to TMAs along with employees working in such offices, the sub-division of defunct PHED and RDD are hereby entrusted with the staff concerned, assets and liabilities to towns and talukas.”If the officials who had been working as taluka municipal officers, taluka officer infrastructure and secretaries of various union councils throughout the province quit their present posts in such a large number it would cerate a vacuum and make it difficult for the TMAs and UCs to run their day to day affairs, said sources in the Local Government Department.

The officials could not be directed to report to parent departments until an amendment had been made to the SLGO, said the sources.

The order also failed to explain to whom the officials would report and how would they resume official work in case they went back to their parent departments, said the sources.