LAHORE, Jan 23: The Punjab government is shortly launching the new Provincial Management Service to replace the existing PCS and Secretariat Service which have been declared as dying cadres because of the abolition of executive magistracy.

Rules about the new service have been approved by the chief minister with some amendments, and are likely to be notified in a day or two, official sources told Dawn on Friday.

They said officers in the new service would be inducted through either direct recruitment or promotions of the junior staff. "With the introduction of the new service, the province will start filling in hundreds of posts of BS-17 lying vacant because of bar on recruitment during the past over two years," they said.

The rules would not be applied on those belonging to the existing PCS and Secretariat Service. They would also not be merged into the new service and would complete their tenure of service according to the existing setup.

They said the recruitment into the new service would be made in BS-17 through the Punjab Public Service Commission. Those recruited would be trained to work in the secretariat as well as in the field as against the previous practice of separately employing section officers for office work and PCS officers for field executive jobs.

The new arrangement would help the government overcome staff posting problem which occurred because of the creation of a large number of posts under the district government system, officials said.

They said the new service would also allow the government to recruit officers for the new field posts which it could not under the existing system because of the abolition of posts of executive magistrates, extra-assistant commissioners and assistant commissioners.

"We need to groom officers for the secretariat as well districts and that is why we are going to introduce the new service. Those in the PCS and Secretariat Service belong to a bygone era," officials said.

They said the existing PCS and Secretariat Service officers would continue to enjoy their quota in the field jobs like DDO revenue, finance or planning, and those of section officers or under secretaries. "Their cadre would die out with the gradual retirement of those already serving."

According to the federal government's job sharing formula of 1993, 40 per cent of field posts in BS-18 are given to the DMG officers. Half of the posts in BS-19 and 65 per cent in BS-20 are also given to them. The remaining posts are divided among the PCS and Secretariat Service officers at the ratio of two to one.

Officials said the existing job sharing formula for the PCS and Secretariat Service officers would continue to be followed along with the posting of officers of the new management service. There are no service rules for the PCS and Secretariat Service officers above BS-18.