QUETTA: Khalil Ahmed, President, APCA, Population Welfare Department and Amanullah, General Secretary, have said law of jungle prevails in Population Welfare Department, Balochistan where charge of District Population Welfare Department of different districts of the province was assigned to those officers of the department who offered the highest rates.
In a statement issued here on Sunday, they said that FWCs, MSUs and Rural Health Centre (RHCs) of the department set up in all the districts of the province were deficient of contraceptive and general medicines for the last many months as the funds released for procurement of contraceptive medicines and general medicines for the healthcare centres of PWD were being embezzled by a few officers of the department.
They added that one grade-14 official has been assigned the charge of four different posts with financial powers besides assigning him the duties of Cashiership of the office of Secretary Population Welfare Department and Directorate General, Population Welfare Department, Balochistan. They added that it was not known as to why the charge of the post of Cashier, office of Secretary, Population Welfare Department had been assigned to a grade-14 official of attached department in the presence of dozens of officers and officials of SandGAD serving in the office of Secretary, Population Welfare Department. They said that administrative department had placed four government vehicles at the disposal of the said grade-14 Cashier, adding that the said cashier had also been empowered to issue petrol chits.
They said that Director (Admn) and (Finance), office of the Directorate General, Population Welfare Department, who was the brother of the said cashier, was also holding the charge of four different posts with financial powers. They added that an amount of Rs. 7545000/- was drawn from July 01, 2020 to June 30, 2021 through fake vouchers in the heads of seminar, workshop, stationery and repair of vehicles, but, they added that during the said period neither any seminar or workshop was arranged nor was new stationary purchased for the Directorate General, Population Welfare Department, Balochistan.
They said that employees of the department had been awaiting their promotion for the last 32 years, adding that promotion cases of Senior Clerks to the rank of grade-16 had been pending in the administrative department since February, 2021 without any cogent reasons. They added that promotion cases of Family Welfare Councillors to grade-16 had also been kept in cold storage in the office of Secretary, Population Welfare Department, Balochistan due to unknown reasons, adding that eligible Superintendents, Assistants, Stenographers, Assailant Private Secretaries, FWW, Junior Clerks and other employees of different categories had deliberately been deprived of their regular promotion. They said that the verdict of Balochistan Service Tribunal passed during the year 2017 regarding amendments in the Service Rules of Population Welfare Department was not being implemented.
They said that Director (Admn), Directorate General, Population Welfare Department, Balochistan had relaxed several employees of the department from their official duties and these employees draw their salaries without attending office. They said that the mentioned issues had time and again been brought into the notice of Secretary, Population Welfare Department, Government of Balochistan, Director General, Population Welfare Department, Balochistan in black and white, but no action had been taken, adding that employees of the department had been on strike since July 8, 2021, but the authorities had turned a deaf ear to the legitimate demands of the employees of PWD. They called on the authorities to entertain the genuine demands of All Pakistan Clerks Association (APCA), Population Welfare Department, Balochistan.