KARACHI, July 16: Governor Mohammedmian Soomro has promulgated the Sindh Ministers (Salaries, Allowances, and Services) Amendment Ordinance 2002. It shall come into force at once and shall be deemed to have taken effect from December 1, 2001.

In the amendment made to section 5 of Act VIII of 1975, for the words “twenty-one thousand”, the words “thirty-two thousand” and for the words “eighteen thousand”, the words “twenty-seven thousand” shall be substituted.

In section 7, sub-section (2) of the Act, the following shall be substituted where a minister is not provided with an official residence or prefers to reside in his own house or a private residence, he shall be paid thirty-five thousand rupees per month and shall, in addition, be paid a sum of sixty thousand rupees for furnishing the house only once whether he is appointed a minister or elected as speaker or deputy-speaker for any number of occasion.

In the said Act, in section 10, for the words “four hundred and fifty”, the words “five hundred and fifty” shall be substituted.

Meanwhile, the finance department has clarified for the information of civil servants that extraordinary leave without pay once granted/availed under Rule 19 of the Leave Rules 1986 at the option or request of the civil servant cannot be converted into any other kind of leave because of the following reasons:

Pay and allowances and annual increments during extraordinary leave are inadmissible subject to proviso under Rule 50 (d) of Sindh Civil Services Rules Manual Volume-I, the period of extraordinary leave is not countable towards pension and is treated as a gap in service;

extraordinary leave can cover a period of unauthorized absence in terms of Rule 19 (2) of the Sindh Civil Servants Leave Rules 1986 or on the court’s directions.—APP