Body to regularise 1,500 NHA employees declared illegal

ISLAMABAD: The regularisation of some ,1500 daily wages and contractual employees of National Highway Authority (NHA) on the directives of the Khursheed Shah Committee formed by the PPP-led government, has been declared illegal citing gross violations of existing rules and procedures, the sources told The News here on Friday.

The committee constituted by NHA reviewed the regularisation of all these employees and prepared a report in which it stated that rules and procedures were not properly followed while giving them regular status in line with the directives of the Khursheed Shah Committee. The committee headed by Zahid Zaman Lak has forwarded its report to the Section Officer Road of NHA who would submit it before the Supreme Court that is hearing the case against regularisation of all these employees.

The report of the committee also suggested to the Ministry of Communications to terminate the services of those employees who were working on daily wages and were later regularised on the orders of the Khursheed Shah committee.

"As far as the issue of regularisation of those employees is concerned who were working on the contractual basis the report recommended that the orders of their regularisation should be taken back and they should be directed to work on their previous positions," the sources said.

The sources said the committee never reviewed the appointment of twenty consultants in NHA as well as the issue of absorption of 60 officers who were working on deputation so these issues were not mentioned in its report submitted to NHA.

When contacted, NHA Secretary Saeed Ahmad Malik told The News that "I have not yet seen the report submitted by the committee so I am not in a position to give any comments over it."

To a question, he said the case of regularisation of daily wagers and contractual employees in NHA is currently pending with the apex court so they would act in line with the upcoming verdict of the court.