The Punjab government has ordered payment of salaries for July to over 200 employees who were shifted to the Parks and Horticulture Agency (PHA) from the Rawal Town tehsil municipal administration.
The PHA was established in 2011 by merging the horticulture wing of the Rawal Town municipal administration and the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) on the directives of the Punjab government.
The Punjab government gave the administrative control of the new agency to the RDA, but the salaries of the employees were being paid through the accounts of the TMA.
Rawal Town Administrator Saif Anwar Jappa said the TMA had written a letter to the local government secretary to issue clear directions whether the 200 gardeners would be the employees of the TMA or the PHA and that who would pay their salaries during the next fiscal year. The Punjab Local Government secretary, in response to the letter, held that the 200 employees would be paid salaries by the PHA. The local government secretary, when contacted, confirmed the release of salaries of July to give relief before Eid to the poor employees.
