PHA under pressure for writing adverse report

Islamabad

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhawa Housing Department has sent back-to-back seven letters to Provincial Housing Authority (PHA) in last one month to ‘grill’ its top bureaucracy, the sources told The News here on Sunday.

Adviser to the KP chief minister on Housing Dr Amjad Ali moved the summary for initiation of Swat Aboha Township Scheme in his native area. But PHA in its report entirely declared it infeasible. 

According to the official record, the KP Housing Department issued a notification No SOE/Housing/4-3/Vol-VI/2015-16 on April 13 to terminate the PHA Director Technical who headed the team that prepared the survey report about Swat Aboha Township Scheme.

On April 22, a letter No SOE/Housing/4-3/2015-16 written by KP Housing Department to the director general of PHA stated “the personal files of all employees in BPS-17 including DG PHA and above may be immediately sent to this department within 03 days positively.”

When the management of PHA tacitly opposed the removal of the Director Technical the KP Housing Department sent another letter No. SOH/Housing/ADP/1-17/Vol-V/2016 to the PHA stating “the department does not recognise Mr. Alam Zeb as Director Town Planning as this additional charge has not been approved by the competent authority. Moreover, the department has already cancelled his deputation orders and has repatriated him to his parent organisation.”

The KP Housing Department also sent a letter No. SOE/Housing/4-3/2015-16 on April 29 to the PHA DG that stated “I am directed…to request you to provide updated status of the project (Institutional Strengthening of Housing Department) in terms of original PC-I allocations, releases, expenditures and balance funds. The details of all procured machinery may also be provided.”

Another letter sent to PHA on April 29 also stated “I am directed to refer to this department letter dated 22nd April…However, even after 5 days the personal files have not been sent to this department by your office and the Secretary Housing Department has taken serious notice of the issue.”

Later, the KP Housing Department tried to find faults with accounts of PHA so it sent a letter No. SOE/Housing/4-3/2015-16 on May 3 to PHA DG asking “You are requested to furnish required details about accounts of the housing authority as early as possible.”

The PHA management maintained ‘silence’ over the onslaught by the KP Housing Department but it further enraged it so another letter was sent to PHA on May 10 stating “I am directed to refer to this department letter of even No. dated 29th April,2016 vide which it was requested to provide updated status of the project (Institutional Strengthening of Housing Department) in terms of original PC-I allocations, releases, expenditures and balance funds ‘as well as all procured machinery, however, the same are still awaited which may please be provided to this department at the earliest.”

When contacted, Adviser to the KP chief minister Dr. Amjad Ali said they have done nothing wrong because it is their right to ask PHA about certain things as it works under the control of the KP Housing Department.

“We sent PHA letters and asked for something but its management does not bother to answer our replies. No one can be allowed to work in violation of the existing rules and procedure. The PHA’s management has to respond to our letters in which we asked it about its certain things like accounts, list of officers and personal files of high officials,” he said.

He said the PHA officials are giving impression that the KP government is victimising them due to their report against Swat Aboha Township Scheme, adding “We will hire a consultancy firm and if it says that the scheme is not feasible then we will shelve this project.”

Talking to The News, PHA director general Salim Khan said the KP Housing Department has been constantly targeting them due to their report in which they declared Swat Aboha Township Scheme infeasible.

“We are not politicians and we do our work in line with the rules and procedures. The KP Housing Department has adopted harsh policy towards us but still we are doing our work,” he said.

He said: “PHA is an independent authority but I think the KP Housing Department wants to interfere in its affairs for some vested interests.”

To a question, he said if the KP government transfers him to any other department then he would perform his professional duties according to the rules and procedure.