‘Discriminatory’ promotions of CDA stenographers resented

The discriminatory move by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) high-ups of promoting senior stenographers, serving the authority, has triggered unrest among those who were left out in the process, Pakistan Today learnt on Wednesday. A source in the CDA, seeking anonymity, told this scribe that on 11-05-2011, the CDA board had decided to upgrade the stenographers from BPS-16 to BPS-17. “As the board had not mentioned in its earlier decision as to how many of the senior most stenographers were to be promoted, the remaining ones around 54 wrote applications to high-ups including the CDA chairman requesting that they should also be included in the promotion list,” the source said.
He said the CDA high-ups then maintained that the board’s decision was about the senior most stenographers who had served the authority for more than ten years. While the junior stenographers, he said, contented that the board had not mentioned the promotions of the senior staff only.
“All the upgraded stenographers were then designated as private secretaries despite the fact that the said posts had not been vacant for quite some time”, the source added. The decision of the CDA board, a copy of which is available with Pakistan Today, said,“In pursuance of the CDA board’s decision dated 11-05-2011, it is notified for the information of all concerned that the board in its meeting held on 11-05-2011 has approved the upgradation of post of stenographer along with incumbents from BPS-16 to BPS-17 w.e.f 11-05-2011 (i.e from the date of Board decision). The upgradation of these posts will be subject to all codal formalities.” However, some officials privy to the development said that the ambiguous decision of the CDA board was the main reason of unrest among the remaining staff. “Had the CDA clearly mentioned in its decision to upgrade the senior most stenographers, such a situation would have been averted,” said the source.
Recently, the source said, the upgraded stenographers moved a summary to the CDA board seeking a high pay-scale citing their services for the authority. “In their summary, the stenographers demanded high scales and also proposed to re-designate them as private secretaries since the grade of stenographers is BPS-16 and they could work on the same post in BPS-17” the official source added.
The upgraded stenographers included Muhammad Rashid, Muhammad Afzal, Munir Ullah Azeem, Sultan Mahmood, Amjad Pervaiz, Muhammad Ali, Mazhar-ul-Haq, Hafiz Muhammad Akram, Shaheed Hussain, Saeed Ahmad Gondal, Muhammad Yasin, Syed Athar Ali, Naeem Khan, Mazhar Abbas, Muhammad Boota, Mehmood Ali and Abdul Wahab.
CDA HRD Deputy Director General Najma Akhtar, when approached, declined to comment on the decision of the board, saying that she was not at liberty to speak on the issue. CDA spokesman Ramzan Sajid was also not available for his comment.