Daily Times

While most countrymen see the word bureaucracy as the red tape involved in every policy delay, one thing the branch seem to be efficient in recent times is increasing the perks enjoyed by the top officials. Following the tradition set by the provincial government of Punjab, the Balochistan government has given hefty raise to its top two officials – Chief Secretary and Inspector General of Police, bypassing the legislature and in the absence of any recommendation from Pay and Pension Committee.

But unlike Punjab, the Balochistan government has approached the finance ministry in Islamabad to get federal government’s nod to include this raise in the pension of chief secretaries and inspector generals.

In the case of Sindh, the bureaucracy there has got doubled the utility allowance for all the officials and officers working in the provincial secretariat. There is nothing on files as yet, but thecase for the hefty raise in allowance for the chief secretary and IGP Sindh is expected to be approved by the ChiefMinister sooner than later.Sources said that following the “precedents” already set by Punjab and Balochistan, some federal secretaries have started lobbying to move a case for Prime Minister’s approval for similar raise for federal secretaries and grade-22 officers.In the past too, it is said that for additional benefits and to get two residential plots for federalsecretaries, the topmost mandarins’ forum – the Secretaries Committee – was used. The Secretaries Committee, which otherwise rarely meet and remain almost dormant, had become active during Musharraf’s tenure to get additional benefits and two plots for federal secretaries. Later, these benefits were extended to all grade 22 officers.

While the parliament itself is in a rather weak position to argue the raise issue – as the legislators haven’t themselves stayed away from doing the same for themselves –the perks and salaries of the bureaucracy should commensurate their performance on thefield, while also following the outlined procedures.

While one can point out dozens of discrepancies here, the process cannot be checked without an oversight committee to ensure that the given guidelines are not bypassed. In the past, legislators from federal as well as assemblies have been witnessed raising their salaries – possibly the only aspect where thewhole legislature was unanimous in voting positive. Similarly, the examples set by the Punjab and Balochistan government will only serve as a precedent for Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments to follow. Unless one of the stakeholders themselves takes a stand, there is no stopping these practices.

Although following the latest developments, where influential members of the bureaucracy have started getting hefty raises, finance ministry sources insist that all such raises and additional perks, which do not have the sanction of the parliament are invalid. However, the provincial governments are of the view that the chief ministers could offer such benefits. They add that such benefits have been allowed even in the past. *