PESHAWAR, Jan 14: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has opted to continue with low-grade officers as deputy commissioners in several districts in clear violation of its notified official rules and announced decisions, according to officials.

The provincial cabinet had decided on Dec 12 last that the re-designated office of deputy commissioner would be a BPS-19 post, allowing the provision of additional deputy commissioner in BPS-18 in each district, according to an official document available with Dawn.

The cabinet’s decision stands violated as, according to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Establishment and Administration department’s notification dated Dec 27 last, in the case of 16 districts junior officers, who were notified as deputy commissioners.

The BPS-18 officers, who were performing as district coordination officers under the previous local government system, have been retained as deputy commissioners following the introduction of the new local government system that took effect on Jan 1, 2013.

On Dec 27 last, the Establishment and Administration department, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, had notified the integration of ‘the functions of erstwhile district coordination officer and district officer (revenue & estate) in the deputy commissioner office in all districts.’

The notification, according to an official source, was based on the provincial cabinet’s decision on Dec 12, 2012 as a result of which the office of the administrative head of each district was downgraded from BPS-20 post to BPS-19 under the new local government system.

The move, said official sources, was necessitated because of the lack of interest on the part of BPS-20 officers, who seldom agreed to take the assignment of DCO under the previous local government system introduced in Aug 2001.

“It was one of major reasons for the failure and debacle of the previous local government system as the senior district management group officers of BPS-20 and above did not take assignments as DCOs, leaving the system at the mercy of junior officers,” said an official.

However, the new local government system, too, faces the same challenge as the provincial government does not seem to have competent senior officers to perform as deputy commissioners.

The 16 districts, where BPS-18 officers were notified on Dec 27 last, to perform against the BPS-19 post of deputy commissioner, include Battagram, Buner, Charsadda, Chitral, Upper Dir, Lower Dir, Hangu, Haripur, Karak, Lakki Marwat, Malakand, Mardan, Nowshera, Shangla, Tank and Torghar.

The officers notified as deputy commissioners in these districts have been directed, under the government notification, to perform duties in their ‘own pay and scale,’ meaning thereby that they would work against posts one grade senior to their existing pay and scale.

The junior officers performing against senior administrative posts include Mian Adil Iqbal, Mohammad Ayaz, Syed Zafar Ali Shah, Rehmatullah Wazir, Mohammad Ali Shah, Mahmood Aslam, Tahir Zafar, Mujeebur Rehman, Ali Anan Qamar, Nisar Ahmad, Amjad Ali Khan, Zakaullah Khattak, Ghulam Mohammad, Mohammad Ziaul Haq and Mohammad Abdul Aamer Khattak, according to the government notification.

Officials in the provincial finance, planning & development departments told Dawn that the government’s decision to continue with junior officers against senior posts signified the adhocism with which it dealt with its own decision and respected it attached to the cabinet’s decisions.

“This is anomalous, showing weakness and lack of administrative guts on the part of senior bureaucrats running the show on the behest of political elite in power,” said an official.

Another official said junior officers performing against senior posts not only caused resentment to those who felt neglected it also showed ‘cronyism’ and lack of rest for government rules on the part of people at the helm of affairs.

“We saw in the previous system that in many districts officials of the section officer and Tehsildar levels were running the shows on behalf of junior officers posted against BPS-20 posts of DCOs in several instances,” said an official.