His Excellency,
I like to draw your kind attention toward a very important policy matter pertaining to the present and future of a peaceful co-existence of federal and provincial services in Pakistan. Hoping that your good honour would consider my humble suggestions and play your pivotal role to exterminate bureaucratic autocracy in the provinces. This would ultimately strengthen the federation and the federating units.
His Excellency, It’s a fact that District Management Group (DMG) officers are federal servants and posting of only 700 DMG officers in the Punjab and other provinces of Pakistan is illegal, unconstitutional and ab-initio void until an “All Pakistan Service” is created as enunciated in the Article 240 of the Constitution 1973. At this particular juncture, their posting in the provinces is a vehement discrimination with 6000 provincial civil servants of Pakistan.
Virtually, the Punjab government is run by the supercilious bureaucratic oligarchy of only 300 officers victimising more than 1500 provincial civil servants. The government of Punjab has besieged the common man through 43 Secretaries, 9 Commissioners, 9 RPO’s, 36 DCO’s, 36 DPO’s, DG and Directors of anti-corruption, Members of Board of Revenue, P&D, and stiff necked bureaucrats of almost 9 CM offices in the Punjab. Members of the Punjab Public Service Commission are also posted as per sweet will of the CM Punjab. These DMG officers have usurped all the key posts and deprived sons of the provinces, Provincial Civil Services (PCS) officers, in their own province.
His Excellency, last year five DMG officers blatantly refused to attend the office of the Governor of the Punjab who called them to give briefing on different issues. The haughty bureaucrats refused to appraise the situation to your Hon’ble representative in the Punjab. It’s also a fact that DGPR Punjab, a DMG officer, is using all means, money and resources in the form of advertisements against the vision of Pakistan Peoples Party.
Junior DMG officers of grade 17 and 18 were posted on higher grades, incapable and inefficient officers squandered the valuable public exchequer in extravagant way. Politico-bureau nexus was an open secret in the Punjab, retired DMG officers were posted on hefty perks in contravention to the orders of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of Pakistan, and last but not the least, only retired DMG and PSP officers were posted as members of the Punjab Public Service Commission, Punjab. Mr Ahad Cheema (ex-DCO Lahore), Mr Yousuf Kamal (Chief of Danish School Authority), Mr Waqas Mehmood (ex-DCO Sahiwal/Addl Secretary dealing with Laptops), Dr Jahazeb (ex-Secretary Health/Spurious Drug Scam) are some of the instances of questionable governance in the Punjab.
Governor Punjab, Sardar Latif Khan Khosa, commented through a sound dissenting note on the Bill of the posting of junior DMG officers who are still 26 in Punjab. These junior officers are in fact responsible for the deaths of hundreds of innocent people who fell victim to dengue fever and spurious drugs used by cardiology patients.
His Excellency, federal DMG officers have usurped all powers in respect of policymaking slots, promotion prospects, foreign trainings, allotment of GOR residences, perks and privileges and even public service delivery in Punjab. In view of the above, following proposals are submitted for reforms in the bureaucratic setup of Pakistan.
1. Like the reforms of Mr Yahya Khan and Late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, known as purge of 303 and 1303, fresh reforms must be introduced ousting the corrupt and notorious officers.
2. All the officers defying the Governor of Punjab must be called back and transferred to FATA, FANA and Balochistan.
3. DMG is not any technical service. In the presence of all other federal service groups, this supercilious group must be abolished. After the 18th amendment, provinces are quite capable of running their provinces efficiently. Hence no need of DMG cadre in the service in the current scenario.
4. A proviso has been added in the article 27 of the 18th amendment 2010, to provide safeguard against any discrimination in services. An independent and fair Commission/Secretariat comprising of ex-service men (Generals) from military and judiciary (judges) be established to settle the issues and discriminatory demeanor of DMG against the PCS officers. Hence, the establishment of an independent commission is imperative need of the day.
5. Punjab Assembly’s report of 1986 must be given priority and implemented.
6. If at all, elimination of DMG from provinces is not feasible abruptly, then tenure of DMG officers in the provinces must be curtailed to a maximum period of two years.
7. DMG is occupying 90 percent of the luxurious accommodations in the GOR Lahore. It needs immediate curtailment up to 25 percent and remaining 75 percent for PCS officers. Retired DMG officers are not paying even nominal house rent to the government.
8. The number of APUG officers in Punjab, at any time, should not exceed the number of PCS officers to the federal government on deputation basis.
9. All the ex-cadre posts held by the APUG officers must immediately be given to the PCS and PSS officers after promoting eligible officers.
10. Taking serious view of the pervading corruption in Punjab, all such federal and provincial officers be inquired by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) as the CM Punjab seems helpless before the federal officers and Director General Anti-Corruption, also a DMG officer, has not initiated even a single inquiry against DMG officers.
May the Omnipotent Almighty empower you to cope with the nasty elements of the government!
MIAN ALLAH BAKHSH TARIQ
Lahore