LAHORE, Dec 23: A lack of motivation in the absence of service incentives and proper acknowledgement has affected the performance of traffic wardens in the provincial capital.
The situation is not different in city districts of Gujranwala, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad and Multan. According to the police record, around 6,500 wardens are performing duties in the five big cities.
The educated wardens inducted in 2006 by the then PML-Q government were supposed to deliver on the basis of motto: “Courtesy, Service and Excellence”. But reports about their misbehaviour with motorists and even thrashing them, using cell phones at wrong time, gossiping in duty hours, issuing excessive fine tickets and overlooking the road traffic discipline are more than ever before. And it is alleged their only remarkable performance is with escort and route duties with VVIPs.
A high-level departmental committee constituted by the provincial police chief in August 2012 following a meeting with a delegation of traffic wardens from across the province, who called for the resolution of their problems including service structure, pay and allowances, transfer to other cadres and residences, has yet to reach an outcome.
A couple of wardens told Dawn that their promotions had been due as they had served more than six years in service. The PML-N-led government and the police hierarchy seem to be non-serious in streamlining the force.
They said they were foreseeing their bleak future as process of getting the wardens confirmed was halted at the initial stage.They said nobody should expect too much from the force “which is driven by officers of traditional Punjab police known for corruption and inefficiency.”
Currently, up to 3,400 wardens (with rank of sub-inspector) are part of the City Traffic Police, out of which 300 have been put on the disposal of the Ring Road Authority which is under the control of the Lahore Commissioner.
A police source said the seniority lists prepared three months ago by a former city traffic police chief were still pending at the CCPO office. He said the induction of Wardens Service in the Punjab Traffic Police was not an easy task as rules had to be framed keeping in view the service of five city districts.
The source said the committee constituted by the provincial police chief a few months ago to formulate service structure of wardens had yet to work out any formula.
Punjab Additional IG Malik Khuda Bakhsh Awan and Punjab Traffic Police Additional IG Qalbe Abbas were supposed to work on the issue but they had not called any meeting in the last three months or so, the source claimed.
According to the criteria for promotion as Senior Traffic Warden (Rule (5) Schedule (1) of Traffic Wardens Service Rules), five years service as well as 70 per cent marks in Traffic Management Course of at least three months duration are required.
According to a warden, a majority of the wardens fulfills the condition of five-year service but the authorities have shown no interest in conducting the course. He says uncertainty is fast gripping the wardens who have been working half-heartedly and receiving punishments.
Chief Traffic Officer Sohail Chaudhry said he had submitted the latest curricula of the TMC and its module to the Punjab additional IG training office two weeks ago and was still awaiting response. He said he also framed the latest basic course for 300 under-training wardens who would shortly join it at Sihala and Chuhng police training colleges.
He said the wardens should be promoted against available traffic vacancies all over the province under a centralised seniority fixing mechanism rather than district wise to avoid complications. He said those on promotion as STWs would be able to do service in districts where old traffic police system operates.
The CTO said the promotion of most wardens at their current station would complicate the situation keeping in view the limited vacancies. It’s not possible to accommodate a large number of newly-promoted STWs against the 70 seats currently vacant in Lahore, he said.