KARACHI – The Sindh government will stop bureaucrats’ allowances and incentive packages so that money could be saved for plugging and repairing flood protective bunds, sources in the Finance Department informed Pakistan Today.
Government officers working on various projects are drawing funds worth billions of rupees in the form of special allowances, project allowances and incentive packages. Sindh is dealing with one of the worst financial constraints following the floods that have razed its infrastructure, besides displacing more than seven million people.
The allocation for the Annual Development Plan 2010-11 has also been reduced by 50 percent and several important schemes including the Shaheed Benazir Women Support Programme worth Rs 7 billion have seen closed. Regular officers get themselves employed in different foreign and locally funded projects and, thus, receive hefty project allowances, official vehicles with fuel and other facilities.
In 2009, the Finance Department, through letter No FD(SR-III)5/29-2008(B), had revised the rates of project allowances of regular government employees – officers and other staff – working on provincial development projects and priority programmes. The project allowances are applicable to projects costing over Rs 500 million with both local and foreign financing.
Officials of grades 20 to 22 are earning at least Rs 50,000 a month with an official vehicle, fuel and other facilities; whereas grade 19 officers are being paid Rs 40,000, grades 17 and 18 Rs 30,000, grade 16 Rs 15,000, grades 11 to 15 Rs 8,000, grades 5 to 10 Rs 4,000 and grades 1 to 4 Rs 2,000.
On February 17 last year, the Finance Department issued letter No FD/B&E-1/2(148)/2010-11 to all secretaries, Board of Revenue senior members, Development additional chief secretary, Planning and Development Department and district coordination officers, asking them to furnish an immediate report so the decision could be implemented as early as possible.
Special packages worth Rs 8.560 billion are being implemented in the province including the Hyderabad Development Package, Shaheed Benazirabad Package, Nawabshah Package for Education, Larkana Package, Lyari Package, Malir Package, Keamari Package, Karachi Rural Package, and City District Government Karachi Package.
Special projects worth Rs 33.895 billion include the Greater Hyderabad Sewerage Project (Phase I), strengthening civic amenities of Mirpurkhas taluka, strengthening infrastructure of Benazirabad taluka, strengthening infrastructure system of Sukkur TMA, foreign-funded Sindh Cities Improvement Programme, development of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Park, construction of new 100MGD Pump House at Dhabeji, infrastructure development in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh (PM’s directive), Police Package, development project for Bhit Shah Town (Phase II), 50-km road scheme in Tando Muhammad Khan and Hyderabad, Gorakh Hill Development Project (Phase I), Clean Drinking Water for All Project, and development of the Zulfikarabad Development Authority.
B&E Additional Finance Secretary Rafique Ahmed Buriro told Pakistan Today that he is not in the position to disclose how much amount would be saved after stopping the project allowances of officials. “We are compiling the data to ascertain the exact figures,” he added.
