RAWALPINDI: Deputy Commissioner Dr Hassan Waqar Cheema on Thursday asked District Health Authority to take action against 200 health employees under the Punjab Employees Efficiency, Disciplinary and Accountability Act for being involved in misappropriation during the campaign against dengue mosquito larvae.
He asked the authority not to spare the relevant Deputy District Health Officers (DDHOs) as they kept issuing salaries to them without keeping an eye on their work.
A senior official of the district health authority told Dawn that during checking, the Punjab Information and Technology Board (PITB) teams found more than 200 employees absent from duties on the field and were drawing salaries and would send their photos, which they had taken during previous campaigns, to PITB as proof on a daily basis.
Their activities have left the anti-dengue drive a useless exercise as the number of dengue patients kept increasing with each passing day, he said.
DC orders action under Punjab employees accountability act
He said that some officials were not present in the field but were drawing salaries from the health authority. He said that a list of the employees had been prepared and sent to provincial government for necessary action.
He said that the third-party audit of the dengue campaign had been started in all the union councils, and it was expected that the performance of the officials would be checked on regular basis.
In 2025, so far 281 dengue patients reported in the district, while last year the number of patients was 210 only till September 11.
On Thursday, 17 dengue patients were reported in the Rawalpindi district, while 67 dengue patients are in the hospitals. These patients arrived from Kotha Kalan, Qayumabad, Saidpur Scheme, Satellite Town D-Block, Saddar, Tench Bhatta, Shakriayal, Dhamial, Asghar Mall Scheme and Dhoke Dalal.
Meanwhile, the health officials’ misappropriation was discussed in the meeting of the District Emergency and Response Committee with Deputy Commissioner Dr Hassan Waqar Cheema in the chair.
It was decided in the meeting that strict action will be taken against the officials involved in fake activities as well as the DDHOs issuing salaries to them.
The meeting was attended by Health, Education, WASA and other relevant departmental senior officials. District Health Officials gave a detailed briefing to the meeting on the performance of the anti-dengue campaign so far and the steps taken.
Speaking on the occasion, the Deputy Commissioner said that all departments should play a proactive role in the field regarding the prevention of dengue in Rawalpindi. Along with intensive monitoring of public places, educational institutions, hospitals and hotspots, no negligence will be tolerated in the destruction of dengue larvae.
He said that government officials engaged in fake activities and those absent from duty will be dismissed immediately.
“Action will be taken against such officials under the PEDA Act who have taken salaries but have not worked. Action will also be taken against DDHOs who have issued salaries to officials engaged in fake activities.
According to PITB reports, so far, about 200 officials have been identified who were absent from duty or were engaged in fake activities. Officials of all departments were directed to conduct daily field visits and submit their performance reports. Declaring the anti-dengue campaign a national duty, it was decided to further intensify the public awareness campaign.
Deputy Commissioner Dr Hassan Waqar Cheema clarified that such government officials who are negligent on a sensitive issue like the protection of public lives do not deserve any concession. A zero-tolerance policy will be adopted in the anti-dengue campaign to keep citizens safe from the disease, he said.
Published in Dawn, September 12th, 2025
