Sindh Water Commission (SWC) on Monday summoned Chairman Pakistan Council for Research & Water Resources (PCRWR) over non-payment of salaries to employees of the council. One-man judicial commission headed by former judge of Supreme Court Justice Amir Hani Muslim also issued notices to Attorney General, Additional Attorney General, Federal Secretary Science and Chairman PCRWR.
Dr Ghulam Murtaza, who is Senior Research Officer at PCRWR and member of Task Force of the SWC, submitted an application in the court that employees of the council have not received their salaries for last several months. There are more than 150 employees of the PCRWR and have not received their salaries, he submitted.
Dr Murtaza said, "We have been working in PCRWR for the last many years and prayed the commission to ensure the payment of their salary and arrears, accumulated over last many months."
The commission directed the Chairman PCRWR to appear in person in the next hearing with the reply and ordered him to refrain from taking any adverse action against Dr Murtaza.
"Any action against him will be construed defeating the objectives of the commission which has been constituted under the orders of the Supreme Court."
The commission observed that notices issued to all the persons under the garb of non-compliance for installation of treatment plants at their industrial units should be discharged and the matter will be taken up after the time granted to the owners lapses.
However, they are put to notice to ensure that the units are installed within the stipulated time if they fail to do so, they will be sealed, it maintained.
The commission also directed the Director General (DG) Sindh Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) to do the homework before the matter of non-installation of treatment plants is brought to its notice.
"It is unfortunate that misleading information is provided on which the notices were issued, the commission held the view and ruled that in future, if this happened, DG SEPA shall be personally responsible and penal consequences will flow against the officers who provide such lists." Such officers will be compelled to compensate those whom the wrong notices have been issued," it stated.
Dr Murtaza told the commission that two treatment plants installed at Nawabshah have been stopped by the company on the ground that they cannot afford to run without payment of O&M and they cannot pay salaries. Since the day the commission has been constituted, repeated directions have been issued to the Secretary Local Government and Secretary Public Health, but no progress has been made on the issue except passing the bug, he submitted.
It was informed that the Supreme Court decided that Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) will take over all the water and sewerage schemes and run them while Secretary Local Government will provide human resources. The commission expressed serious reservations on the issue and ruled that if somebody has done wrong, the Secretary PHED was free to direct action against him, but mere recording of observations in the notes and summaries does not absolve him of his responsibility to move forward.
It granted three-day time to Chief Secretary Sindh and Secretary PHED to resolve the issues, failing which an appropriate order will be passed as the public at large has suffered and is suffering every day on the callous approach of the officials concerned.
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