Federal Secretary for Cabinet Division and Water and Power Nargis Sethi – one of the most powerful bureaucrats and a firm believer in the rules of business – has been removed from the Ministry of Water and Power, reportedly on the pressure of some ministers and influential people.
According to reports, she refused to release subsidies of Rs 40 billion and Rs 2 billion for projects not approved under prescribed rules and procedures with 23 days remaining in the present government’s tenure.
Highly reliable sources said on Saturday that Minister for Water and Power Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar, Minister for Kashmir Affairs Manzoor Wattoo, and some other important people were annoyed with Sethi. Sources said that Sethi had personally requested the prime minister that she be relieved of the additional charge of the Water and Power Ministry.
After getting the additional charge of the Water and Power Ministry, Sethi took immediate steps to stop corrupt practices in the National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) and other institutions in order to reduce load shedding and to bring parity in load shedding between rural and urban areas. She was also instrumental in recovering arrears from influential persons, and refused requests by ministers and parliamentarians for transferring WAPDA XENs and SDOs.
According to another report, the minister of water and power had asked Sethi to appoint Mehboob Alam, acting chief executive officer of the Gujranwala Distribution Company, as the managing director of the NTDC, and in his place appoint Javed Azad, a superintendent engineer. But she refused to accept the recommendation on the plea that Mehboob Alam was a junior officer and could not be posted at such a senior position.
Two weeks ago, during the meeting of a four-member committee comprising the defence minister, the minister for Kashmir affairs, the finance secretary and the Water and Power secretary, Wattoo pressed for a flat rate subsidy of Rs 40 billion for tube wells – a proposal strongly opposed by the secretaries of finance and water and power. However, the committee approved the flat rate subsidy proposal for tube wells, which would be sent to the new water and power secretary, Rai Sikandar, for approval.
Sikandar is Grade-21 officer who has been given the charge of the ministry. He is junior to Water and Power Special Secretary Himayatullah Khan and Additional Secretary Arshad Mirza.
I suppose she was trying to derail democracy
There is no end to the vile & evil ways of PPP and their leaders.
It's a cover up for nargis sethi. She is no angel and this article just gives her immunity from her past sins.
She does not carry a good reputation.
She was Gilani's front woman. Now that the PPP is a sinking ship, like a rat she is jumping from it. A crafty woman.
Nargis Sethi is no angel, she was partner in crimes committed by Yusuf Raza Gillani.
No one is an angel in Pakistan. Angels never make it to the top positions in this country.
At least she brought down load shedding to an acceptable level. we are ungrateful ppl.
The demonstrated performance of ms nargis sethi under adverse conditions has proved that loadshedding can be brought uner control through effective administrative measures. She established an online monitoring system, would pay surprise visits to distribution company's. We should take pride that we still have such competent officials amoungst us.
She was described as the rock by Yusaf Raza Gillani, who praised her role as PS to PM of Pakistan. We all know how they facilitated Hajis and helped quality control for drugs by the Ephedrine quota and the good governance thru appointments of Adnan Khawaja, Aijaz Haroon, Fazal Pechua, Tauqir Sadiq etc etc
A very senior bureaucrat, who like her peers Salm-n Si-dique, Kamran Lashari created records of many financial and administrative irregularities. She met her own kind in the form of Ahmed Muk-tar and chose to jump ship, now that their rule is coming to its fag end.
A clear difference between the performance of nargis sethi and rai sikandar is visible from the load shedding level before and after her removal.grateful to nargis sethi.(Doesn't matter whether she is angel or evil,she did one good task for which she deserve praise)
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