KARACHI: Pakistan Businesses Forum Thursday demanded of the federal government to carry out due structural changes in the power sector through measures to inculcate service oriented approach in power distribution companies (Discos).
“Despite huge circular debt in the country, Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO) has further extended the duration for outside posting of the DISCO officers from the parent company to other power distribution companies from one year to three years which also put heavy burden on national exchequer and even it makes no sense,” said PBF President Sahibzada Mian Usman Zulfiqar in a statement. He said the decision would further increase the financial burden of power companies which mostly already were running in losses.
He said as per the initial policy introduced in 2017, the tenure of posting on promotion outside parent company would be at least one year. Asper Transfer/Posting Policy, all officers on ‘promotion’ are required to be posted out of their parent company from nearer to farthest companies according to seniority in descending order. Similarly minimum tenure of posting outside parent company will be three years
Officers who will be posted out of their parent/present companies, in the interest of work, will be entitled to Dislocation Allowance. The lien of such officers will remain intact with their parent companies. The officers post are entitled to dislocation allowance, one week of paid leave with TA/DA as per respective entitlement. Mr Usman also said it had nothing to do with the efficiency or integration as it solely based on the extra benefit of millions of rupees which is being paid to the posted officials.
When WAPDA was integrated, there was no extra payment of any kind for posting in any part of the country. Even the bureaucrats serving other parts of the country don’t claim extra pay then why huge extra payment is being made to the officers of discos for outside posting, he questioned.
The loss or extra payment is not being paid by the disco’s from its own resources as it is either transferred to the power consumers or being added to the circular debt, he said. One officer costs millions of rupees extra annually when posted outside his parent discos, he said. Beside, an official vehicle and house is also provided by the host disco. A total of 160 percent extra of the basic pay is being paid by the host discos which include 100 percent extra basic pay and 60 percent house rent of basic pay.
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