Islamabad - Capital Development Authority has identified over 2,000 ghost employees who have regularly been withdrawing their salaries, it has been learnt.

According to sources in the CDA, the ghost employees were identified through biometric attendance system installed in majority of the CDA offices.

The authorities have decided to conduct physical audit of around 14,000 employees of the civic agency and for the purpose, biometric machines would be installed in eighteen more offices of the CDA, the sources said. They said that majority of the ghost employees included staff deputed in field and remote offices. According to the CDA officials, in the first phase, the salaries of such employees would be stopped before initiating disciplinary action against them.

According to officials in IT department of the CDA, such employees were around 2,496 in number out of the total 14,412 employees, who are required to ensure their attendance through the biometric system. They have been found permanently absent from duty as far as their attendance in biometric system is concerned. The Authority has decided to install biometric machines in all its offices to monitor attendance of the employees. Efforts are underway to monitor the field staff as well through GSM technology, the officials further said.

Process for identification of the ghost employees in CDA and Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad is in its final phase and a multi-pronged strategy is being adopted for the purpose.

Member Administration CDA Muhammad Yasir Peerzada supervised the process of installation and operation of the biometric system at various offices of the CDA and MCI and identification of ghost employees. The employees failing to register on biometric system have been categorised as ghost employees.

Earlier, the DG Administration CDA had issued a letter to all wings of the authority whereby he had desired that all employees must get themselves enrolled under the biometric system. The huge exercise of enrolment for biometric attendance system helped identify ghost employees in the CDA, the sources said.

Mayor directs for accelerating road carpeting

Mayor Islamabad and acting Chairman Capital Development Authority Sheikh Anser Aziz directed the Machinery Pool Organisation directorate to carryout carpeting of major and minor roads, particularly in thickly-populated areas of the city, on immediate basis.

“The Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) has made the MPO an effective and self-sustainable formation. The directorate is not only meeting requirements of the MCI/CDA but private bodies can also hire its services and machinery, which will generate handsome revenue,” said the mayor while inspecting road carpeting work being carried out by the MPO at Margalla Road, Khayaban-e-Iqbal and F-10 Chowk. Director MPO and officers of other formations also accompanied the mayor during the visit.  

The mayor was informed that after revamping the MPO and acting upon self-reliance policy, road carpeting and maintenance works were being carried out through own resources of the authority, due to which sufficient funds were saved in addition to ensuring quality of work.

He was informed that carpeting of Mragalla Road from Secretariat to F-10, Khayaban Iqbal had been completed. The mayor was also briefed that during the last year, the MPO directorate carried out carpeting of 190 kilometres-long roads in the city, including Constitution Avenue, Pir Sohawa road, G-8 roundabout, Secretariat blocks, D-12, Convention Centre, Diplomatic Enclave, E-11 Service Road (North), Khyaban-e-Suherwardi, Serena Chowk, VIP Loop Fiazabad Chowk, Khaiban-e-Iqbal, Margalla Road, Parbat Road and other major and small roads. In these projects, sufficient funds were saved which were utilised on other development activities, the mayor was informed.

The mayor said that different directorates of the MCI and CDA had been put on the path of self-sustainability which, he claimed, had significantly improved service delivery. He said that all formations of the authority had been directed to adopt the policy of self-reliance and effectively utilise the available resources to make the MCI and CDA self-sustainable departments.