Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has sought approval from the Ministry of Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) for induction of 160 officers in its engineering and planning wings.

The CDA’s Human Resource Directorate in this regard wrote a letter to the CADD joint secretary on Tuesday. It sought a no objection certificate (NoC) for new appointments, 93 in the planning and design wing and 67 in engineering wing.

The vacancies to be filled in the planning wing include 10 deputy directors (civil), two deputy directors (planning), 16 assistant directors (civil), 16 town planners, a traffic engineer, two assistant town planner, 40 sub engineers (civil), and two surveyors. The vacancies in the engineering wing include three deputy directors (E&M), 22 assistant directors (E&M), three boiler engineers, an assistant quantity surveyor and 38 sub engineers.

In June 2013, the federal government had banned new recruitments in its ministries, divisions, autonomous bodies and corporations. Nonetheless, it stated that if there was a pressing need that could be justified requests for relaxation of the ban could be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Currently, there is just one regular director in the planning wing serving in grade 19 in the directorate of traffic engineering. The remaining directorates – including regional planning, urban planning, housing societies, master plan and building control – are being run through deputy directors in grade 18 on current-charge basis.

According to the CDA service regulations, the current-charge of a vacancy may be given to the senior most officer in the cadre to run day-to-day affairs for no more than three months. If needed, an extension can be granted only with approval of the officer higher in the administrative hierarchy. The 2015-16 audit report had pointed out that the civic authority allowed current-charge and look after charge to 98 officers between January 2013 and March 2015. It said this was done without detailed justification and preparation of summaries for regular promotion of officers to whom the current charge in next grades was allowed. The audit observed that the initial period of three months in most cases expired but approval or authorisation was not obtained. It considered this as an inefficiency and mismanagement of affairs.

Sources told Daily Times that instead of making arrangements to fill vacant posts with regular officers in view of the audit report, over a hundred posts in grades 17-20 were being run with temporary arrangements.

Asad Mehboob Kiani, member of the planning and design wing, said the matter of promotion of officers to grades in which they were serving temporarily had got delayed due to unresolved issues pertaining to the seniority list. “I have directed the concerned quarters to initiate the process of departmental promotions.” About the request for NoCs for new hiring, he said he was hopeful that it would be granted in the next week.

Published in Daily Times, August 3^nd 2017.