LAHORE, July 14: The Punjab Accountant-General has stopped payment of salaries and other perquisites to the government officials and functionaries who are working at the district offices against the posts or in grades which are not sanctioned by the provincial finance department.

The decision was taken in order to check the rising trend of withdrawal of excess payments by the government employees, the AG Office said here on Sunday.

A circular issued by AG Wazir Ahmad Qureishi directs the administrative secretaries of various provincial departments to furnish the details of their ‘sanctioned staff’ posted at the district level so that their salaries could be released next month.

The circular says all divisional headquarters and divisional offices have already been scrapped under the devolution of power plan and district governments established in all the districts. But, it notes, some provincial departments have so far not been able to adjust their staff working at the former divisional headquarters despite the passage of one year.

Such staff continues to work in the same districts and their number is in excess of the number of district staff sanctioned by the finance department.

Similarly, the circular says, no junior official could be posted in a senior grade for an indefinite period nor could a senior official be allowed to work in a junior grade for long. But some departments have posted at least six senior officials in BS-18 and 19 against one junior post in BS-17 for several years. This also results in excess payments to them.

“This situation is violative of the government rules. In several districts, more than one officials are working against one sanctioned post and drawing salaries and perquisites which is illegal and violative of the Punjab Financial Rules.

“The ad hoc public accounts committee has also taken notice of this situation and instructed the AG Office to pay salaries only in accordance with the budget to control excess payments,” the circular says.