Daily Times

KARACHI: Karachi Development Authority (KDA) has become ‘Officials’ Junk Yard’ and 19 out of total 23 departments of the entity have been running by non-cadre and own pay scale (OPS) officers.

Such departments under the rules should have been run by Basic Pay Scale-20 and BPS-19 officials, according to the entity laws and regulations, officials on condition of anonymity have revealed.

There are clear-cut directives of Supreme Court that OPS should not serve departments of any government civic entity and without having standing credibility for such post on higher grades, they have maintained.

Officials of BPS-18 and 19 are heading the departments meant to run by BPS-19 and 20 respectively.

Such five departments are being run by lower grade officers and moreover Member Technical, DG Karachi Mass Transit Cell, Traffic Engineering Bureau, Chief Engineer Office and Chief Engineer Electrical and Mechanical departments are being supervised by OPS.

Secretary KDA, a grade BPS-19 post is being occupied by Tufique Soomro a BPS-18 official and similarly Finance and Accounts is being headed by Shamsheer Khan of grade 18, Director Land Management is being supervised by Arshad Abbas of grade 18, Recovery Department being headed by Atta Abbas of grade 18, Estate Enforcement and Resettlement is headed by Raza Khaimkhani, Security and Purchase Department’s head is Rao Tariq of grade 18, Atif Lamba, a grade 17 officer is heading Charged Parking and Bachat Bazaar Department meant for grade 19 officials, Law Department is being run by Syed Iftikhar Ahmad of grade 18, Budget Department is headed by Javeed Ahmad grade 18 officer, KDA Pipe Factory is being supervised by Amanat Ali of grade 17 officer and Low Cost Housing Scheme Department is being headed by a grade 18 official.

Project Director Public Housing Scheme and Beach Development Project departments have been rendered idle as no any official has been deputed as head of respective departments.

Junior grade officials are enjoying running Gulzar-e-Jijri Division I-II Scheme-33, Circle office Scheme-33, Civic Centre Mechanical, Civic Centre Civil, Mechanical Circle, Asphalt Plant Division I-II, Workshop and Store Division, Machinery Pool Division, Malir Bund Division, Design and Estimate SDP, Division-IX PHS, Shah Latif Town-VII PHS, Korangi Division-VI PHS, Clifton Division-V PHS, Surjani Division-IV PHS,

North Karachi Gulshan Division-IIIPHS, Circle-II PHS, Project Director PHS, Gulistan-e-Jauhar Division-I PHS and Corridor Scheme-33 as head on the pretext of favourtism and strong ties with the higher echelon in government functionaries.

Due to corrupt practices and poor administration on upper level, such anomalies are rampant. Similarly a Karachi Metropolitan Corporation officer, Bilal Manzar an OPS officer is discharging his duty as Adviser DG KDA on violation of service rules as an officer of other civic entity cannot serve other than his office. He alongwith 11 other officials is facing land grafting case in court of law.

Published in Daily Times, January 10^th 2018.