Appointment of KWSB officer on OPS basis challenged in SHC

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Friday issued notices to the chief secretary, Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) and others on a petition against the appointment of a grade 19 officer as the KWSB deputy managing director (DMD) finance on am own-pay-scale (OPS) basis.

The high court in the meantime observed that the impugned notification with regard to the appointment of the deputy director finance of the water board shall be subject to the outcome of the petition.

The petitioner, Irshad Khan, had submitted that the chief secretary had appointed Mohammad Rafiq Qureshi, a regional revenue officer of grade 19, as the KWSB deputy director finance, which was a grade 20 post, on an OPS basis.

A counsel for the petitioner submitted that the respondent could not be assigned the DMD post of the KWSB as it would be a violation of the Supreme Court’s (SC) judgment on the issue of OPS cases. He submitted that the Sindh services department had earlier implemented the court order by withdrawing all the notifications with regard to the appointment of OPS officers in provincial government departments but the respondent was again assigned to the post on an OPS basis in violation of the law and superior court judgements.

The lawyer submitted that the post of the DMD could be filled through a competitive process and not otherwise, and hence the impugned notification issued by the chief secretary was illegal and unlawful. The high court was requested to suspend the operation of the notification till the decision of the petition.

A division bench of the high court comprising Justice Naimatullah Phulpoto and Justice Adnanul Karim Memon, after a preliminary hearing of the petition, observed that the high court had to examine as to whether the private respondent being an officer of grade 19 working in the directorate of inspection and evaluation in the Board of Revenue was entitled to be posted as the DMD (finance), a grade 20 post, in the KWSB on an OPS basis.

The SHC observed that it would consider whether the posting of the officer violated the dicta laid down by the SC as well as the seniority list of the officers of the board of revenue.

The high court issued notices to the chief secretary, KWSB and others and called their comments within three weeks. The bench also ruled that the impugned notification shall be subject to the outcome of the petition.

It is pertinent to mention that the SHC in February had also directed the Sindh government to de-notify the posting of the KWSB managing director (MD) and make a new appointment after advertising the post and observing all the codal formalities as provided under the law.

The high court also made it clear that in the intervening period, no ad-hoc arrangement shall be made as far as the posting of the MD, deputy managing director finance and secretary of the KWSB was concerned.

The CM had already approved de-cadering of the posts of the KWSB MD, deputy managing director finance and secretary — all grade 20 posts — from the cadre schedule of the services department and ordered filling of these posts by appointments through a competitive process from the public and private sector on open merit.