DMG officer’s posting against CDA technical position triggers controversy

ISLAMABAD: The appointment of a Pakistan Administrative Service (DMG) officer to the technical post of Member Planning and Design of CDA has become a controversy and the Pakistan Council of Architects and Town Planners has challenged the appointment.

It may be recalled that the Establishment Division appointed a Grade 19 officer of the Pakistan Administrative Service, as Member Planning and Design of CDA on December 1.

The officer has taken charge of the post and started work. However, acting registrar of Pakistan Council of Architects and Town Planners Muhammad Irfan Tariq has objected to this posting by writing a letter to secretary Establishment Division.

He has taken the view that the post of Member Planning and Design is a technical post on which non-qualified architects and town planners have been appointed, which is a violation of the Pakistan Council of Architects and Town Planners Ordinance 1983.

The Registrar of the council drew the attention of the secretary Establishment Division to the constitutional, legal and judicial aspects of this appointment. It has been stated in the letter that the Pakistan Council of Architects and Town Planners is a statutory regulatory body established under the PCATP Ordinance 1093.

It has also been stated that for appointment to the post of Member Planning and Design, relevant qualifications, experience and registration with the Pakistan Council of Architects and Town Planners are required. Working in such a position without fulfilling all the requirements is a violation of law and punishable under the law concerned.

The letter referred to the Ministry of Interior’s 2019 advertisement for the post of Member Planning and Design of CDA, in which the eligibility criteria for the member was stated as First Class Master’s Degree in Town Planning or Architecture with preference to MPhil and PHD. Twenty years of post-degree experience was required.

The letter has requested that the recent appointment decision of Member Planning be reviewed and a professional and qualified person be appointed to this post.