BRT PMU employees move court for absorption in KPUMA

PESHAWAR: The employees of the Project Management Unit (PMU) have decided to seek relief from the Peshawar High Court against the Transport Department decision to not absorb the unit in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Urban Mobility Authority (KPUMA).

According to the petitions the employees separately filed in the court, the PMU has been established at the Transport and Mass Transit Department (TMTD) as a dedicated unit on the recommendation of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). As per the PC-I of the project, the unit was supposed to be absorbed in the KPUMA once the authority is established.

The KPUMA has been established through an act of law to plan, establish, coordinate and regulate mass transit system and support systems and urban transport companies in the province.

However, the employees, who are going to separately move the court and who include Sajjad Khan, project director (BPS-20), Aftab Ahmed, project coordinator/senior traffic engineer, Riaz Ali Khan, account officer and five other low-rank officials alleged that TMTD had denied absorbing them in the KPUMA.

They said that in response to their pleas for absorption, they were informed that the department wanted to recruit people from the market directly.

The petitioners have made the provincial government respondent through secretaries Transport, Planning & Development (P&D) and Finance.

However, Sajjad has also included Mian Shaukat Shafi, Senior Project Officer, Pakistan Resident Mission of the ADB, as a respondent as well so that he can comment on the historical evidence of the case.

They said a clear commitment was held out to them that they would be absorbed in the KPUMA once it was established. And after its establishment, it was so decided by the authority at its second meeting on April 3, 2017, and directed the project director to move summary in this regard for approval of the competent authority.

They said that they had got the right to be absorbed in the KPUMA under the doctrine of legitimate expectancy.

Sajjad in his petition said, “He joined the PMU under the bona-fide hope that he would be adjusted in the service of the Authority and under such hope he not only participated in the selection process but also resigned from service of Urban Planning Unit (P&D) Department when selected him as project director.

The Urban Planning Unit (P&D) Department was subsequently regularized along with its staff, therefore, he would have been regularized, had he been in its service, but he missed that opportunity due to joining the PMU.

Thus the refusal of the respondents to regularize his services in KPUMA has resulted in serious miscarriage of justice.

The PMU employees said that the respondent authorities had not treated them in accordance with law, rules and policy and they acted in violation of Article 4 of the Constitution by refusing to regularize and absorb their services in KPUMA.

The employees have sought relief and pleaded the court to restrain the authorities concerned from filling the disputed posts in the KPUMA and taking adverse action against their interests.