SHC tells govt to make interim arrangements if Sepa DG not appointed under eligibility criteria

The Sindh High Court (SHC) has observed that the Sindh government should make interim arrangements for the appointment of the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) director general (DG) if the eligibility criteria are not fulfilled for the post.

The interim order came on a petition of Javed Iqbal who had challenged the appointment of the Sepa DG by the government.

A counsel for the petitioner, Mohammad Vawda, submitted that under the service structure notification, either the DG in grade 20 should be appointed directly with a PhD degree in environmental engineering or through promotion.

The counsel referred to the minutes of a meeting of the board in which it was decided to appoint the DG directly, whereas the respondent DG was promoted as an additional

director general but

immediately he was promoted to DG.

He said the post of Sepa DG had to be fulfilled through the procedure and rules laid down in the law but the selection board appointed its own officer as the DG after promoting him as additional DG.

He submitted that the respondent lacked qualification for the post of Sepa DG and requested the high court to set aside the impugned notification with regard to the appointment.

A division bench of the SHC headed by Justice Mohammad Faisal Kamal Alam after a preliminary hearing of the petition observed that the contention raised in the petition required consideration.

The high court issued notices to the Sindh government, Sepa and others, and called their comments on August 12.

The SHC observed that in the meantime, the Sindh government should make interim arrangements if the eligibility criteria were not fulfilled for the regular appointment as laid down in the notification.

It is pertinent to mention that the Sindh government had posted Waqar Hussain Phulpoto as the Sepa DG following his promotion to the post of additional DG on May 2.