Withdrawal of UC secretaries and freezing funds mean contempt to court by SLGD

November 17, 2009

By Irfan Aligi

KARACHI: The leader of the house in the city council alongwith other key members had refuted claims of the opposition benches in the house that the decision to withdraw 134 Union Council (UC) Secretaries was done in compliance to orders of the Sindh High Court. Their claims in this regard were none except to dupe the people and to give a lame excuse to the action that causes millions of citizens to suffer. Muhammad Asif Siddiqui, Arshad Qureshi advocate, Syed Absarul Hassan and Mirza Afaq baig stated this while addressing a press conference at the leader of the house chambers at city council on Wednesday.
Siddiqui showed a letter to this scribe and said that the Sindh Local Government Department (SLGD) had issued a notification (Order) No SLGB/SCUG/AO(UA-1)/5(1649)/2009/2759 Dated: Oct 23, 2009 wherein it was stated that “ In pursuance of SGA & CD Notification No: SO-1/S&GAD/6/25/2009 Dated: 22.4.2009 and with approval of the competent authority, the following Clerks/Non-SCUG Officiating Secretary, Union Council are hereby transferred and repatriated to their original/parent department with immediate effect. The order contains list with details of those mentioned in the order.
It was not SHC that ordered the Sindh Local Government Department (SLGD) to withdraw 134 UC secretaries all of a sudden and order the banks concerned to freeze accounts of these 134 UCs. In fact, they were the employees of Octroi Department who had been accommodated at UCs in District Dadu that had moved the SHC Hyderabad Bench to seek remedy against threat of being unemployed, as they had feared they would be removed from functioning as UC secretaries, said Siddiqui.
Conversely, the SHC Hyderabad bench had given a verdict on Nov 10 vide constitutional petition No CP-D 265 of 2008 that the government would allow petitioners to appear in the written test for the post of secretary Union Council falling under the cadre of Sindh Council Unified Grade Services (SCUGS), added Siddiqui.
It is pertinent to mention that Pakistan People’s Party Awam Dost Group Deputy Opposition Leader in the city council Haji Muhammad Jumman Darwan had talked about the issue and defended the SLGD during the session held on Wednesday, Nov 17.
Darwan had claimed that the SLDG had simply complied with the orders of the Sindh High Court, claimed Siddiqui.
Arshad Qureshi advocate while addressing the press conference said that all such actions taken by the SLGD stand contrary to the provisions of the Sindh Local Government Ordinance-2001 while if the SLGD fails to withdraw the order, it would be an act of contempt to court.
Qureshi further stated that it was a planned conspiracy against the people at the grass root level. Sindh government could withdraw any secretary if necessary replacement was made. Unfortunately, nothing such measures were taken while freezing UC accounts was an additional act without any reason. Freezing of funds could also be made only after concrete proof regarding misuse of funds or any unlawful manipulation.Mirza Afaq baig while taking his part in press conference said that UC secretary issued routinely around 25 deaths, birth and other certificates, which have now been stopped. This has created much problem for the masses. There are 134 UCs in city that has stopped these basic functions in favour of citizens. On the other hand, freezing of UC funds has also jammed UCs’ functions because they were the secretaries that were responsible for signing any financial document, added Baig.