Daily Times

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) has sought the explanation from the local government department as to why the salaries have not been paid to Hyderabad Development Project (HDP) contracted employees and what is the reason for they are not regularised yet.

A division bench, headed by Justice Irfan Saadat, was hearing the petition filed by 23 employees, who had submitted that they have been serving since 2007 on contract basis, but they are not being regularised by the government. “Our 17-month salaries have not been issued,” they added.

Earlier on February 9, the court had directed the secretary local government to process the regularisation matter of the petitioners on merit. The court had also ordered that pending salaries of the employees should be paid without delay.

“Our both directives are not complied with yet. The deputy secretary local government is directed to appear before court on March 27 along with explanation for defying court’s directives,” the bench ordered.

Earlier, the petitioners including assistant project directors informed the judges that HDP was approved by Planning Commission Government of Pakistan in 2006 with aimed at uplifting the deteriorated infrastructure of water supply, drainage and roads in the city.

“We were appointed on contract basis in BPS-17 in 2007 and since then the government extending our contracts period instead of regularising. We are working with honesty and dedication yet we have not been regularised,” they added.

The petitioners maintained that their salaries were stopped in October 2015, but they kept performing their duties with dedication. Citing chief secretary, secretary local government and project director as the respondents, the petitioner pleaded the court to direct the authorities concerned to regularise them.