LAHORE, Jan 7: Punjab Chief Secretary Kamran Rasool has asked all departments to enlist posts three months prior to their falling vacant for timely promotion of employees against them.

Official sources told Dawn on Wednesday that the chief secretary issued the directions last week in order to streamline promotions of the government employees, many of them retire from service in the same grades for lack of such prospects.

Previously, the officers were enlisted for promotion to higher grades only after posts fell vacant as a result of either the elevation, retirement or death of those already working on them.

The practice delayed the promotion of junior officers because of the cumbersome procedure which included timely completion of the ACRs (annual confidential reports). Now, such formalities would most likely be completed within the three-month time given for the prior enlistment of the posts.

Sources said that the chief secretary had also made the officials concerned to complete files of officers expecting a promotion on an urgent basis so that maximum number of cases could be taken up during the meeting of the Punjab Selection Board on Thursday (today).

As many as 300 cases of officers, including those belonging to the provincial civil service, are likely to be taken up during the meeting. Sources said that most officers who had been denied promotion to the next higher grades belonged to the PCS, many of whom retired or died in BS-18.

The chief secretary had also directed the officials concerned not to follow the promotion formula in vogue and instead consider the full length of service for the officers' eligibility to promotion. Under the formula, the PCS officers in BS-18 were eligible to promotion to BS-19 after working in the same grade for five years. The timeframe for those in BS-19 was three years.

Many PCS officers say that the formula was made to deny them promotions in the higher grades according to the quota fixed by the federal government. Under the quota, 60 per cent seats were reserved for the PCS officers in BS-18, 50 per cent in BS-19 and 40 per cent in BS-20 and above, they claim. The meeting on Thursday would reportedly take up the promotion cases of around 10 PCS officers as against the available 32 seats.