Despite facing financial crisis due to heavy rains, Sindh government has not curtailed any non-development expenditures and the officers/employees posted at offices of Project Directorates of various projects are minting money in the heads of hefty allowances and salaries.
Well-placed sources of Planning and Development (P&D) Department told Business Recorder on Monday that officers and employees working in Project Directorate of Hyderabad Development Package (HDP) are getting hefty allowances and salaries.
According to document available with Business Recorder, the Project Director of HDP an officer of BPS 20, is getting Rs135,886 in the head of various allowances including Rs50,000 of project allowance, house rent allowance, medical allowance, conveyance allowance, special relief allowance, ad hoc relief fund, special action allowance and ad hoc relief allowance. While, the salary of this officer is also Rs135,886.
The two Deputy Project Directors, one Technical Officer and one Director (Finance), all of BPS 19, are drawing Rs114,168 in the head of said allowances. These three officers are also getting Rs114,168 each in the head of salaries.
Besides, two project engineers are getting Rs86,659 each in the head of said allowances while they are drawing Rs173,318 each in the head of salaries, the document said.
Two assistant project engineers are getting Rs74,894 each in the head of various allowances while they use to draw Rs149,788 in the head of salaries. One accounts officer (BPS 17) is getting Rs65,093 in the head of various allowances while his salary is Rs65,093, the document stated. Similarly, remaining officers/ employees including Accountant, Superintendent, Quantity Surveyor and others are also minting money in the head of various allowances and salaries, the document revealed.
The document further stated that the P&D Department had approved Rs107.400 million for the setting up of project directorate of the said project. Later, the cost of the project was revised as Rs129.050 million.
The cost of the said project was again revised and now the cost has reached Rs215.636 million, the document said. The original cost of salaries and allowances of staff was Rs70.156 million, which was revised and reached Rs91.39 million and after another revision it reached Rs176.329 million, the document said.
Thirty-eight officers/employees are working in the Project Directorate of HDP and they are getting hefty salaries plus allowances as compared to other officers/employees working on other normal pots. The document said that HDP was initiated in 2005-06 and would be completed in 2015.