PESHAWAR: A Peshawar High Court bench on Friday directed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief secretary, military land and cantonments director general and local government secretary to explain their respective positions in writing on a petition challenging the appointment of the Peshawar Development Authority director general on deputation.

Justice Qaisar Rasheed and Justice Mohammad Ibrahim Khan issued notices to the respondents after preliminary arguments on the petition filed by PDA Building Control Agency deputy director Khan Afzal Afridi, who insisted the last year appointment of Mohammad Saleem Hassan Wattoo as the director general on deputation was illegal.

Khalid Khan Afridi, lawyer for the petitioner, requested the bench to ask the respondent (Wattoo) under what authority of law and rules he was holding the PDA DG’s post.

He sought the court’s order to declare the DG appointment illegal, unconstitutional and against the law and rules of the Provincial Urban Development Board (PUDB).

PDA official insists Saleem Wattoo’s appointment on deputation illegal

The lawyer said on different grounds the impugned notification issued on Aug 9, 2015, by the provincial government regarding the appointment of Wattoo may be declared without lawful authority and the post of DG may be declared vacant.

Mr. Afridi said Wattoo was a BPS-19 officer basically from the Income Tax Department (now Inland Revenue Services) and was inducted on Apr 19, 2004 in the said group.

He added that Wattoo was promoted to BPS-18 on Aug 18, 2009, while he was on deputation with the Military Land and Cantonments (ML&C) group.

The lawyer said Wattoo was permanently absorbed in the ML&C Group on June 11, 2010.

He said the appointment of Wattoo, who was serving in BPS-19 in ML&C, was based on mala fide on part of the provincial chief secretary and local government and rural development secretary.

The lawyer said through appointment of a junior officer (Wattoo), who did not possess the required experience of 17 years, the provincial government had deprived around 10 senior and deserving officers of their becoming the DG.

The counsel pointed out that the total length of service of Wattoo was 12 years and three months so he lacked the experience required under the law and rules. He added that under the relevant rules the DG should be in BPS-20 by promotion on the basis of seniority-cum-fitness from amongst different directors including that of finance, legal, planning, building control agency, technical, local area authority and estate management with at least 17 years’ service in BPS-17 and above.

Mr. Afridi said the word deputation was alien to the PUDB Service Rules 1978.

He added that it was a settled principle of law that when statute, rules specifically required a public functionary to act in a particular manner, it must act in that manner and on the contrary the same would be nullity in the eyes of law.

The petitioner also levelled several allegations against the DG in his petition saying without approval and in sheer misuse of authority, the DG was spending public money for his personal needs and comforts, which was neither covered nor allowed by rules and law.

Published in Dawn September 10th, 2016