Punjab holds 144 EDO posts in abeyance

LAHORE As part of an austerity drive and consequent issuing of a notification for abolishing 432 seats of 18 various departments, the Punjab government has held 144 posts of Executive District Officers in abeyance till the Punjab Local Government Ordinance 2001 is amended. As per sources, the Board of Revenue raised objection to a notification issued by the Services and General Administration Department of abolishing 432 seats, which included 144 slots of EDOs Literacy, Law, Information Technology, and Revenue. This was done as per the instructions of the provincial Finance Department. In a summary written to the Chief Minister Punjab, the BoR mentioned that these seats of the EDOs were constitutionally protected as per the PLGO 2001. After realising this, Shahbaz Sharif ordered that these slots should be held in abeyance till the PLGO was amended. Earlier, a notification was issued as per which 432 slots of 18 departments, including the Chief Ministers Secretariat, were abolished after the Finance Department deemed these as a burden on the public exchequer. A high-level committee, headed by CMs Senior Advisor Sirdar Zulfiqar Ali Khan Khosa, granted approval to this. As per this, two members of the CM Inspection Team, one BS-20 member of the Planning and Development Board, one Joint Chief Economist, four posts of secretaries Tourism, Sports, Information Technology and Inter-provincial Coordination departments, six slot of Special Secretaries for CM Punjab, Agriculture Marketing, Communication and Works Department, Health (Development), Information, Culture and Youth Affairs, Irrigation and Power, Housing, Urban Development and Public Health Engineering departments, three posts of BS-21/Additional Inspector General in police Department, one post of BS-19/SSP Survey Special Branch, seven posts BS-18/SSP, 69 posts of DSPS, two posts of BS-19 of Consultants (Headquarters Lahore) one post each of Consultant Regional office Multan, and Regional office Sargodha in the Provincial Ombudsman Office, one post each of Deputy Secretary and Section officer in BS-17 have been abolished. Moreover, posts Project Director BS-19, Monitoring Officer BS-18, two Programmers in BS-18, two drivers in Grade-4 and two posts of Grade-1 Naib Qasid in the Local Government and Community Development Department has been laid off, which means that 234 of the districts governments had been abolished. Besides the EDOs, 18 posts of Deputy District Officer (Registration), 36 each of DDO (Staff Revenue) and DDO (Coordination) have been abolished. Also 80 posts of the C&W Department, which include 40 each of DDOs (Roads) and DDOs (Buildings) of BS-17.