D.O.NO.POP.1-786/2003 OFFICE OF THE

OMBUDSMAN, PUNJAB 2-BANK ROAD, LAHORE

Dated Lahore the March, 2006

My dear Governor,

It is a matter of great pleasure for me to submit to you the Annual Report of the Office of Ombudsman, for 2005, as required by section 28 of the Punjab Office of the Ombudsman Act, 1997. This is the 9th report since the Office was set up and the second which I have the privilege of presenting. This covers first complete calendar year of my working as Ombudsman; last year’s report covered a period of 7½ months of my tenure.

During the year under report, our focussed attention has been to dispose of maximum number of complaints and reduce the time taken in finalizing investigation of a complaint, and if maladministration is made out, redressal of the grievance. I am reporting with a sense of satisfaction that the year under report closed with 2440 complaints under investigation, which is the lowest number of complaints in process at the end of any year since this Office was established in 1996. We had set for ourselves a target of disposal of a complaint within four months of its registration and by the grace of Almighty Allah and the efforts of my colleagues− barring some extremely complicated cases or where reports were delayed by the agencies, we have been able to complete the investigation within this time frame. We shall do everything possible to reduce it further during the current year. I am confident that with the cooperation of government departments/agencies reduction of two to three weeks more is possible.

I would like to bring to your kind notice that since its inception, and till 31.12.2005, this Office received 93,207 and disposed of 90,767 complaints. In 2005, against 8,503 complaints filed in this Office, we disposed of 10,796 complaints, i.e. 2,293 more than the institution and, thus, brought down the number of under investigation complaints to the lowest level in the history of this Office. I may add that equal importance is attached to actual redressal of the grievance and all findings directing provision of relief are monitored till these have been complied with. This is essential to build trust in, and credibility of this Office.

Besides prompt disposal of complaints, we have been making consistent endeavour to make redressal of grievances as inexpensive as possible. The complainants are required to attend personally once if the matter needs discussion in the presence of representatives of the

department. Otherwise, complainants are kept informed of the developments with a clear advice that their presence on each date of hearing is not necessary. You would be glad to know that, as desired by you during your visit to the Regional Office, Multan, in June 2005, the latest position of all complaints is available on our website launched in October 2005. The complainants and the agencies can access it, if they so wish.

In pursuance of your desire to consider extending our network to different regions, I have the privilege to report that, another Regional Office at Rawalpindi has been set up in a rented building which has started receiving complaints for investigation, emanating from Attock, Rawalpindi, Chakwal and Jhelum districts.

Regional Office, Multan has been functioning satisfactorily in a rented building, but simultaneously, a custom made office building has been designed and is expected to be completed during the current year. We are also trying to get a suitable piece of land in Rawalpindi for a properly designed and complainant friendly office building. To overcome the problems of accommodation in our Head Office building, a scheme is under execution to provide some offices, a proper library and a record room.

In addition to redressing individual grievances, our effort has been to identify systemic problems and formulate recommendation to improve systems and procedures. As in the previous reports, this report also contains recommendations of general nature common to all departments as well as recommendations specific to individual departments. The recommendations have been made with the hope that on implementation, these will provide relief to the public.

I would once again acknowledge the financial and administrative support which has been forthcoming from the government and because of which this Office has been able to provide redress to grievances of the public in a timely and inexpensive manner.

I conclude by expressing my thanks for your interest in and support for this institution and your desire to enable it to truly serve the people affected by acts of maladministration. I hope that this support from you and all levels of the government shall continue, in future too.

With deep regards,

Yours sincerely,

(Abdur Rashid Khan)

PROFILE OF MR. ABDUR RASHID KHAN

(OMBUDSMAN PUNJAB)

Mr. Abdur Rashid Khan was sworn in as the 4th Ombudsman for the Province of

Punjab by the Governor on the 17th May, 2004. He holds Master’s degree in English Literature

from Government College, Lahore with 1st position in Punjab University. Later, he also got a

Law Degree from the Punjab University, Law College Lahore. He also has postgraduate

Diploma with Distinction in Development Studies from Cambridge University, England.

After completing his education Mr. Abdur Rashid Khan joined the (now

defunct) Civil Service of Pakistan and served on various field assignments in Sub Divisions,

Districts and Division as well as Attached Departments and Autonomous Bodies in top

positions. He also held important positions as Secretary to the Government of Punjab in

different departments. On his transfer to the Federal Government, he served as Additional

Secretary Interior Division and as Secretary to the Government of Pakistan Population Welfare

Division. His last appointment while in government service was as Director General, Civil

Services Academy, Lahore. He, thus, has vast experience of field and secretariat assignments of

both the Provincial as well as the Federal Governments and an in-depth knowledge of the

difficulties faced by citizens coming in contact with government agencies.

Mr. Abdur Rashid Khan attended a two week seminar organized in New Delhi

by Asian Productivity Organization. He participated in a six week programme on Personnel

Management in University of Connecticut Hartford U.S.A. As Federal Secretary Population

Welfare he represented Pakistan in the 36th session of United Nations Commission on

Population and Development at the United Nations Headquarters New York in April 2003. He

lead a delegation of the Interior Division to Turkey and also visited Iran and United States as

member of high level delegations.

CONTENTS Page No.

CHAPTER-I

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................1-10 CHAPTER-II

ORGANIZATION OF THE OFFICE OF THE OMBUDSMAN, PUNJAB

1. Organizational Chart .......................................................................................11 2. Chronology of Events......................................................................................12-13

CHAPTER-III

RECOMMENDATIONS

i) GENERAL ......................................................................................................14-20

ii) DEPARTMENTS / AGENCIES

1. Anti-Corruption Establishment...............................................................21 2. Bait-ul-Mal .............................................................................................22 3. Benevolent Fund.....................................................................................22 4. Communication & Works.......................................................................23 5. District Coordination Officers/Tehsil Municipal Administrations .........25 6. Education ................................................................................................25 7. Environment Protection ..........................................................................26 8. Excise & Taxation ..................................................................................26 9. Finance....................................................................................................28 10. Food........................................................................................................28 11. Forestry, Wildlife & Fisheries ................................................................29 12. Health .....................................................................................................29 13. Housing, Urban Development & Public Health Engineering.................30 14. Irrigation & Power..................................................................................31 15. Labour & Human Resource ....................................................................32 16. Lahore Development Authority..............................................................33 17. Livestock & Dairy Development............................................................33 18. Local Govt. & Rural Development.........................................................34 19. Police ......................................................................................................34 20. Population Welfare .................................................................................36 21. Revenue Administration .........................................................................36 22. Services & General Administration........................................................36 23. Universities & Boards of Intermediate & Secondary Education ............39 24. WASA ....................................................................................................39 25. Zakat and Ushr........................................................................................40

CHAPTER-IV

IMPLEMENTATION................................................................................................41-43 CHAPTER-V

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

1. Year-wise Receipt & Disposal of Complaints (30.9.1996 to 31.12.2005)......44-45 2. Department/Agency-wise Breakup of Complaints Received..........................46-47 3. District-wise Breakup of Complaints Received ..............................................48-49 4. Non-maintainable Complaints.........................................................................50-51 5. Nature of Maladministration Reflected in Maintainable Complaints .............52-53 6. Complaints Pertaining to Maladministration in Service Matters ....................54-55 7. Disposal of Complaints ...................................................................................56-57 8. Breakup of Complaints Decided After Investigation ......................................58-59 9. Month-wise Receipt & Disposal of Complaints..............................................60-61 10. Department / Agency-wise Representations Decided by the Governor ..........62-63 11. Month-wise Receipt & Disposal of Implementation Petitions........................64-65

CHAPTER-VI

PRESS REPORTS......................................................................................................66-107 CHAPTER-VII

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS/COMMENTS ..............................................................108-119 CHAPTER-VIII

COMMENTS OF THE COMPLAINANTS ............................................................120-136 CHAPTER-IX

REPRESENTATIVE CASES DEPARTMENT / AGENCY 1. Accountant General Punjab............................................................................... 137 2. Agriculture ........................................................................................................ 137 3. Bait-ul-Mal ........................................................................................................ 138 4. Bank of Punjab .................................................................................................. 138 5. Benevolent Fund Boards ................................................................................... 139 6. Boards of Intermediate & Secondary Education ............................................... 140 7. Communication & Works ................................................................................. 141 8. Co-operatives .................................................................................................... 142 9. District Accounts Offices .................................................................................. 143 10. District Governments ........................................................................................ 143 11. Education........................................................................................................... 148 12. Excise & Taxation ............................................................................................. 156

13. Food................................................................................................................... 159 14. Forestry, Wildlife & Fisheries........................................................................... 160 15. Health ................................................................................................................ 161 16. Housing, Urban Development & Public Health Engineering............................ 164 17. Irrigation & Power ............................................................................................ 164 18. Labour & Human Resource............................................................................... 171 19. Lahore Development Authority......................................................................... 172 20. Local Government & Rural Development ........................................................ 173 21. Police................................................................................................................. 174 22. Population Welfare............................................................................................ 187 23. Regional Transport Authority ........................................................................... 187 24. Revenue............................................................................................................. 188 25. Special Education .............................................................................................. 194 26. University of Education..................................................................................... 195 27. University of Engineering & Technology Taxila .............................................. 196 28. University of Sargodha...................................................................................... 197 29. WASA Lahore................................................................................................... 198

CHAPTER-X

APPENDICES

1. The Punjab Office of the Ombudsman Act 1997 (Act X of 1997) .................203-215 2. Ombudsman for the Province of Punjab (Registration, Investigation

& Disposal of Complaints) Regulations, 2005................................................216-230 3. Governor’s Secretariat letter No.PSG-2/2005-AS-II, dated 6.5.2005.............231 4. S&GAD letter No.SO.CAB-I/10-3/2005, dated 17.10.2005...........................232 5. S&GAD letter No. SO.CAB-I/2-1/97 (Part-II), dated 19.9.2005....................233 6. List of Principal Officers nominated by different government departments...234-242

7. List of Abbreviations.......................................................................................243-245

CHAPTER-I

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Pages 1 – 10

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Section 28 of the Punjab Office of the Ombudsman Act, 1997, requires the

Ombudsman to submit Annual Report to the Governor within three months of the conclusion

of the year. Ever since the establishment of the Office of the Ombudsman Punjab in

September 1996, this is the 9th report and the second in the term of the present Ombudsman.

In the Report, an effort has been made to present an account of the working of the Office in a

frank and transparent manner. It contains an objective analysis of the nature of grievances

reflected in the complaints, relief provided to aggrieved persons and cooperation extended by

the Agencies. With a view to assisting the agencies to improve their working,

recommendations common to all agencies and specific to each department are also included.

2. During the year under report, focussed efforts were made to reduce pendency

as well as the time taken to investigate complaints. By the grace of Almighty Allah, the

efforts have been successful because the year 2005 ended with only 2,440 complaints

pending investigation. Since establishment of this Office in 1996, it is the lowest number of

complaints at the end of the year. When compared with per month average receipt of 709

complaints, 2,440 are almost equivalent to 3.5 months receipt indicating considerable

reduction in the average time taken to dispose of a complaint/redress a grievance.

Simultaneously, initiatives were taken and efforts made to add facilities for visiting

complainants, make working environment more congenial and further enhance capacity of

the Institution for speedy redressal of grievances.

3. ABOUT THE REPORT

The Report comprises 10 chapters:

i) Chapter I is the Executive Summary briefly encompassing activities during 2005, initiatives taken, progress made and future plans.

ii) Chapter II deals with organizational setup of the Office of the Ombudsman, including organogram of Head Office and the Regional Office, Multan. It also includes important events in a chronological order.

iii) Chapter III contains recommendations based upon our experience and information gathered from complaints processed. These are arranged in two categories — General, which are common to all departments and Department Specific, which pertain to a particular Department/Agency.

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iv) Chapter IV provides a brief resume of implementation of directions issued by this Office for redressal of grievances and response of the agencies.

v) Chapter V comprises statistical analysis. It provides information about the complaints received, investigated and disposed of during the year. It may be of interest to the readers to see working of this Office during the year 2005, in terms of self speaking figures.

vi) Chapter VI provides information about activities, functions and performance of this Institution as reported by the Press.

vii) Chapter VII carries views of the interested persons from all sections of the society. Annual Report 2004 of this Office was widely circulated to people of influence in all spheres of society i.e. Cabinet members, legislators, Heads of federal and provincial departments, officers of Defence Forces, training institutions, media and libraries. Some of the comments and views received are placed in this chapter.

viii) Chapter VIII gives an opportunity to the readers to go through the views and comments about the Institution received from the complainants.

ix) In Chapter IX summaries of selected cases disposed of after investigation have been incorporated. These provide information about nature of maladministration committed by the agencies, investigation conducted by this Office and steps taken to redress grievances, while rectifying the wrongs done to the people.

x) Chapter X comprises the Punjab Office of the Ombudsman Act, 1997, Regulations framed under it and some policy circulars issued by the government. It also includes list of Principal Officers nominated by various agencies. These are meant to provide information and knowledge to the officers of the agencies regarding procedure for processing complaints by this Office and action required to be taken by them on a reference or on direction issued to them.

4. JURISDICTION

i) As provided in the Preamble to the Punjab Office of the Ombudsman Act, 1997, the Office has been established for protection of the rights of the people, ensuring adherence to the rule of law, diagnosing, redressing and rectifying any injustice done to a person through maladministration and for suppressing corrupt practices. To accomplish the assigned mission, Ombudsman is empowered to undertake investigation into any allegation of maladministration on the part of an agency or its officers and pass an order deemed appropriate under the Act to redress the grievance, if maladministration is established. He can take cognizance of allegation of maladministration on:

a) a complaint by an aggrieved person, or b) a reference by the Government, or

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c) a reference by the Provincial Assembly, or d) a motion of the Supreme Court, or e) a motion of the High Court, or f) of his own motion.

Following matters do not fall in his purview:

a) subjudice before any court of competent jurisdiction on the date of the receipt of the complaint, reference or motion, or

b) relating to external affairs of Pakistan, or c) relating to or connected with the defence of Pakistan or Defence

Forces of Pakistan; or d) relating to any agency under the administrative control of the Federal

or other Provincial Governments, or e) personal grievances of public servants relating to their service in the

agency in which they are or have been working.

ii) Some complaints of government servants were entertained as the cause of grievance arose from maladministration because of inaction, delay, improper application of rules or negligence of the concerned officials. These mostly pertained to non payment of salaries or retirement benefits, delay in completing ACRs or enquiries, unjustified delay in considering grant of selection grade/move over which was otherwise due.

5. MALADMINISTRATION

Maladministration as defined in Section 2(2) of the Act ibid includes:-

i) a decision, process, recommendation, act or omission or commission which:-

a) is contrary to law, rules or regulations; or is a departure from established practice or procedure, unless it is bonafide and for valid reasons; or

b) is perverse, arbitrary or unreasonable, unjust biased, oppressive or discriminatory; or

c) is based on irrelevant grounds; or

d) involves the exercise of powers or the failure or refusal to do so, for corrupt or improper motives, such as, bribery, jobbery, favouritism, nepotism and administrative excesses; and

ii) neglect, inattention, delay, incompetence, inefficiency and ineptitude, in the administration or discharge of duties and responsibilities.

6. COMPLAINT HANDLING AND OMBUDSMAN’S ROLE

i) Complaints received indicate that mostly grievances are the result of inaction, delay, ineptitude or corrupt practices of officers/officials of

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agencies. Rigid interpretation and skewed application of rules and regulations add to the difficulties of the people coming in contact with them. To ascertain nature of maladministration and the extent to which rights of a citizen have been affected, the procedure adopted is quite flexible. Grievance established through investigation is redressed by directing the agency to grant the required relief. In a few cases, where an agency files representation before the Governor under section 32 of the Act or comes back to the Ombudsman with reasons for non compliance, implementation has to wait till final outcome of representation/ reference. At every stage of processing a complaint, from receipt till final disposal i.e. consignment to record, the complainant is kept informed of its latest status. A complainant is invited to participate in proceedings only if contested issues arising out of the complaint make a joint hearing necessary. This saves him time, effort and resources for alternative use of choice.

ii) In the light of findings of investigation and recommendations drawn, an order is passed within the ambit of the relevant laws, rules and regulations and, in accordance with the Punjab Office of the Ombudsman Act, 1997. In cases, where grievance is genuine, but the remedy is not available in the rules and procedures as these are framed at that time, recommendations are made for amending these appropriately, allowing relief to the citizens, where a case is made out.

iii) From receipt of complaint till its final disposal, the Ombudsman proceeds in the matter in accordance with the rules/regulations relevant to the grievance and provisions of the Punjab Office of the Ombudsman Act, 1997. While doing so, he not only acts as protector and friend of an aggrieved person but also helps the government in making systematic changes and improvements for attainment of the goal of good governance. Our endeavour has been to restore and maintain dynamic equilibrium between the official machinery and the citizens entailing growing public confidence in government institutions.

7. REACHING OUT TO THE PEOPLE

i) In order to make services of this Office available close to the people, in addition to the Regional Office at Multan, which is functioning optimally, the Government approved establishment of Regional Office at Rawalpindi to cater to the needs of north-western areas of the Province. It will receive and process complaints from Attock, Rawalpindi, Chakwal and Jhelum districts. Efforts are being made to make it functional in the first quarter of 2006, whereafter people and officials of these distant four districts will not have to come all the way to Lahore in connection with their complaints.

ii) With the help of Asian Development Bank under Access to Justice Programme, official website of the Institution, www.ombudsmanpunjab.gov.pk was got designed and launched. It became operative w.e.f. October 15, 2005. It provides not only

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information about the Institution but also guides a user, through the procedure to get his grievance redressed. It is user friendly, answers ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ and provides information on the latest status/stage of all complaints in process. By logging on to this website, any complainant or a government agency can update his information about his complaint, while any person can file a complaint.

8. IMPROVEMENTS MADE

The Institution has been trying to establish itself as pro-people and

complainant friendly place. This requires a congenial atmosphere for people seeking relief

and output oriented work conditions for officers and staff. To achieve better qualitative and

higher quantitative results, following improvements in hard and softwares of the Office were

made during the year under report:

i) For the first time since the Office was set up in 1996, standardized uniform procedure for processing complaints, with a view to minimizing time required for its final disposal was enforced through the Ombudsman for the Province of Punjab (Registration, Investigation and Disposal of Complaints) Regulations, 2005, promulgated and notified on January 31, 2005. Since then, our efforts have proved fruitful and required time for disposal of a complaint has considerably been reduced.

ii) For providing assistance and information to the visitors, an information counter has been established. It is manned by an experienced officer. He provides information required by a visitor and, if necessary, takes him along to the office relevant to his issues. A visitor can have direct open access to a location he needs, rather than moving from door to door.

iii) All officers at the Principal Seat have been linked through Computer Local Area Networking (LAN) with the central computer room. Each Investigating Officer uploads information about complaints processed daily which is further processed and posted on the website www.ombudsmanpunjab.gov.pk for information of the people.

9. FUTURE PLANS

Plans were unveiled in the Report 2004, to further improve working of the Institution

for benefit of the people. The progress made is expected to be materialized during 2006.

i) The Government has approved establishment of a Regional Office at Rawalpindi. Required posts have been sanctioned and budget provided. Nucleus staff has been appointed and assigned the responsibility of making necessary arrangements to make the office functional. Efforts are on track to start receiving and processing complaints within March 2006.

ii) For construction of building of Regional Office, Multan, architectural designs have been finalized and scheme approved by the Departmental Development

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Sub Committee at an estimated cost of Rs.16.051 million. After completing the formalities, construction at site is expected to start by end of March and completed by December 2006. The building has been designed to provide conducive working environment for officers besides friendly and comfortable atmosphere for visiting citizens.

iii) Premises at 2-Bank Road, Lahore, where the Head Office is located, also has offices of Chief Minister’s Inspection Team. To solve the problem of congestion faced here, an additional block is being constructed. The work is under progress and is scheduled to be completed by mid September 2006. With its completion, space for proper library and record room will become available in addition to some office accommodation.

iv) From a number of complaints received in this Office, it was found that payment of pensionary dues was being generally delayed causing undue hardships to the retiring / retired civil servants/employees of autonomous organizations. To identify bottlenecks responsible for delay in payment of pensionary dues and to suggest remedial measures, a research project was undertaken. A compendium containing concisely the rules and stepwise procedure required to be followed by Pension Sanctioning Authorities and retired/retiring officials for release of pensionary benefits has been drafted. It is expected to be printed and circulated by June 2006.

10. GOVERNMENT SUPPORT

The Government at all levels have been conscious of needs of the Office and

is fully supportive in providing accoutrements to meet these. In order to realize the objectives

contained in the Preamble to the Act, the Government extended support to the Institution.

The following would illustrate this:

i) Regional Office at Rawalpindi, alongwith required posts and budget has been sanctioned;

ii) Under directions from the Governor and the Chief Minister, I&C Wing of S&GAD issued instructions to implement the recommendations made in the Report 2004 and the agencies have responded in a satisfactory manner;

iii) I&C Wing of S&GAD issued instructions, and Administrative Departments appointed Principal Officers required under the law. With their nomination the liaison with Investigation Officers would improve and the process of speedy redressal of grievances strengthened.

11. DISPOSAL OF COMPLAINTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

i) Complaints received:

During the year, 8,503 complaints as against 8,434 in the preceding year, were received. Out of these, 5,981 were received at Head Office Lahore and 2,522

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at Regional Office, Multan. Table II at page 46 would indicate that 1,261 complaints were directed against Police, 1,160 against Education Department and 837 against Revenue Administration. Trend of complaints received against Police and Education Department remained the same as was in the previous two years but the number of complaints concerning Revenue Administration has shown substantial increase.

ii) Non maintainable Complaints:

Out of total 8,503 complaints received, 3,422 or 40% were found non-maintainable on different counts. Breakup is provided in Table-IV at page 50. Of these 587 which concerned Federal agencies or agencies of other Provinces, were referred to the Ombudsmen concerned.

iii) Disposal of Complaints:

During 2005, 13,236 complaints (8,503 fresh and 4,733 brought forward) were processed, as against 12,117 in the preceding year. Of the 10,796 complaints decided, 3,422 or 32% were disposed of in limine and 7,374 or 68% after investigation. The year under report closed with a pendency of 2,440 complaints which is the lowest number of pending cases at the end of a year, since the Office was established in 1996, and substantially lower than the second lowest at the end of 2003. Breakup is given in Table VII at page 56. During the year, against average monthly receipt of 709 complaints, 900 were disposed of. In fact 2,440 complaints in process at the end of the year, is the working balance almost equivalent to three and a half months receipt. This further indicates that time required to dispose of a complaint has been brought down. Year 2006 has begun with a much lower backlog which will help our efforts to further expedite disposal of complaints.

iv) Each of the sixteen Investigation Officers investigated an average of 461 complaints during the year and submitted findings in 38 cases every month which were disposed of. This has been made possible by consistent hard work by the Investigating Officers, supporting staff and cooperation of the departments.

12. REPRESENTATIVE CASES

To provide an insight into the nature of complaints received, investigated and

findings/directions issued, summaries of 87 selected cases have been added at pages 137 to 202.

13. IMPLEMENTATION OF DIRECTIONS

i) Section 11(1) of the Act provides that if after having considered a matter on his own motion, or on a complaint or on a reference by the Government or the Provincial Assembly, or on a motion by the Supreme Court or the High Court, as the case may be, the Ombudsman is of the opinion that the matter considered amounts to maladministration, he shall communicate his findings to the Agency concerned.

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(a) to consider the matter further; (b) to modify or cancel the decision, process, recommendation, act or

omission; (c) to explain more fully the act or decision in question; (d) to take disciplinary action against any public servant of any Agency

under the relevant laws applicable to him; (e) to dispose of the matter or case within a specified time; and

(f) to take any other steps specified by the Ombudsman.

ii) Section 11(2) of the Act provides that the Agency shall, within such time as may be specified by the Ombudsman, inform him about the action taken on his direction or the reasons for not complying with the same. Every direction issued by the Ombudsman under section 11 of the Act ibid has to be complied with by the Agency within the prescribed time limit. As provided in section 11(5) of the Act, if the Agency concerned does not comply with the recommendations of the Ombudsman or does not give reasons to the satisfaction of the Ombudsman for non compliance, it shall be treated as “Defiance of Recommendations” and can be dealt with in accordance with the provisions contained in section 12. In the year under report this provision of the law had to be invoked in two cases.

iii) Our effort has been to get the tangible relief delivered, within the shortest possible time, to an aggrieved person whose grievance stood established. The agencies were persuaded to get the wrong corrected and grievance redressed during hearing proceedings. In complaints, where completion of certain formalities and procedures requiring longer time to provide relief was visualized, directions with specified time for implementation were issued. During the year out of 1,621 directions which required implementation, 1,022 were got implemented leaving a balance of 599. Most of the Departments/Agencies complied with the directions but in some cases unexplained delay was noticed. Administrative Secretaries of such departments were apprised of the situation and invariably it had the desired effect.

14. REPRESENTATIONS TO THE GOVERNOR

i) Section 32 of the Act ibid provides that any person aggrieved by a decision or order of the Ombudsman may, within 30 days of the decision or order, make a representation to the Governor, who may pass such order thereon as he may deem fit.

ii) During the year under report, 112 representations were decided by the Governor wherein Ombudsman’s decision/orders were upheld in 87, modified in 5 and 20 representations were accepted. Analysis in this regard is provided at page 62.

15. RECOMMENDATIONS

i) Laws, rules, regulations, procedures and formalities are meant to facilitate and improve delivery of services by the agencies to the people. The agencies in

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their regulatory mode are required to create level playing conditions, affording equal access to opportunities of growth. Complaints received and replies submitted by the agencies provided an insight into areas where changes and improvements are required.

ii) On the basis of information and knowledge gathered from the complaints processed, recommendations have been included in the report. General recommendations (pages 14 to 20) are applicable to all the Departments and Specific recommendations (pages 21 to 40) are relevant to the concerned Department/Agency. It is expected that early consideration and implementation of these recommendations shall provide much needed relief to the people.

iii) In the Annual Report 2004, General and Specific recommendations, concerning 19 departments were included. By December 31, 2005, two departments had informed about implementation of recommendations, both General and Specific, three about General recommendations and eleven about Department Specific recommendations only. This Office is pursuing the matter with the Departments/Agencies which have not submitted final reports as yet.

iv) Although directions issued by the Governor and the Chief Minister regarding implementation of recommendations made by this Office have resulted in improvement, yet we would reiterate our suggestion made earlier that an institutionalized arrangement within the government under the chairmanship of Additional Chief Secretary may be made to monitor implementation of recommendations made by this Office.

16. PRESS COVERAGE

Role of print media remained positive and helpful during the year under report. The news items appearing in the print media kept the public informed of the efforts of the Office in redressal of genuine grievances of the complainants. It is a matter of satisfaction that in some cases the work done was also favourably commented upon in editorials and columns. Some of the press clippings are at pages 66 to 107.

17. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Annual Report 2004 of this Office was widely circulated and sent to the representative sections of the society: Cabinet members, legislators, Heads of federal and provincial departments, defence services, judiciary, Nazims, media, training institutions and libraries to keep them informed about the working of this Office. We greatly value the views and comments of those who shared their candid opinions with us. These would surely be of help to us for further enhancing the effectiveness of this Institution. Some of the acknowledgement letters received can be perused at pages 108 to 119.

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18. COMMENTS OF THE COMPLAINANTS

The complainants enriched us with their views, comments and suggestions through a large number of letters. These are of great importance as feedback material which is certainly frank and candid. Some of these are placed at pages 120 to 136. Critical appraisal of our working by members of the civil society will help identify our weak areas enabling us to take corrective measures making the Institution a practical manifestation of aspirations of the people.

CHAPTER-II

ORGANIZATION OF THE OFFICE OF THE

OMBUDSMAN PUNJAB Pages

1. ORGANIZATIONAL CHART 11

2. CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS 12

ORGANIZATIONAL CHART

CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS

12

CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS

SR. NO. DATE EVENTS

1 January 01, 2005 Rana Waris Ali Khan, relinquished charge as Consultant,

Regional Office, Multan.

2 February 21, 2005 Mr. Qadeer Hussain Qaisar, retired civil servant, took oath as

Consultant at Head Office, Lahore.

3 March 03, 2005 Mr. Sardar Muhammad Aslam Khan Lalwani, retired civil

servant, took oath as Consultant at Regional Office, Multan.

4 March 30, 2005 Annual Report was presented to the Honourable Governor,

Punjab, by Mr. Abdur Rashid Khan, Ombudsman Punjab.

5 May 07, 2005 Mr. Muhammad Iqbal Nasir, retired civil servant, took oath as

Consultant at Head Office, Lahore.

6 June 14, 2005 The Governor Punjab visited Regional Office Multan. He had

open discussion with the people present in the premises. A

presentation was made to apprise him of the work done in the

Regional Office, in particular.

7 August 03, 2005 Ombudsman Punjab called on the Ombudsman Sindh, at

Karachi and discussed with him the working of that Office.

8 October 12, 2005 Mr. Muhammad Mukhtar Hussain Shah, relinquished charge

as Consultant at Head Office, Lahore.

9 October 13, 2005 Rai Nazar Hayat joined as PRO to Mohtasib Punjab, Lahore.

10 October 17, 2005 Mr. Ehsan-ul-Haq, retired civil servant, took oath as

Consultant at Regional Office, Multan.

11 October 25, 2005 Web site of the Office of Ombudsman Punjab was launched:

www.ombudsmanpunjab.gov.pk

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12 November 25, 2005 Mr. Abdur Rashid Khan, Ombudsman Punjab, participated in

9th Asian Ombudsman Conference (28th November to

1st December, 2005) held at Hong Kong.

13 December 01, 2005 Sardar Alam Khan relinquished charge as Advisor at Head

Office, Lahore.

14 December 16, 2005 Mr. Sajjad Haider, retired civil servant, took oath as Advisor

at Head Office, Lahore.

CHAPTER-III

RECOMMENDATIONS

Pages 14 – 40

RECOMMENDATIONS

Under Sub-Section 3 of Section 9 of the Punjab Office of the Ombudsman Act 1997 (Act X of 1997)

Pages I. GENERAL 14-20

II. DEPARTMENTS / AGENCIES

1. Anti-Corruption Establishment 21 2. Bait-ul-Maal 22 3. Benevolent Fund 22 4. Communication & Works 23 5. District Governments / Tehsil Municipal Administrations 25 6. Education 25 7. Environment Protection 26 8. Excise & Taxation 26 9. Finance 28 10. Food 28 11. Forestry, Wildlife & Fisheries 29 12. Health 29 13. Housing, Urban Development & Public Health Engineering 30 14. Irrigation and Power 31 15. Labour and Human Resource 32 16. Lahore Development Authority 33 17. Livestock and Dairy Development 33 18. Local Government & Rural Development 34 19. Police 34 20. Population Welfare 36 21. Revenue Administration 36 22. Service & General Administration 36 23. Universities & Boards of Intermediate & Secondary Education 39 24. WASA 39 25. Zakat and Ushr 40

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GENERAL

Grievances voiced through complaints by people from across the Province are

symptomatic manifestation of maladministration resulting from acts of omission and

commission or acts otherwise forbidden by law, rules or regulations. The result is that the

complainants are made to suffer by those whose duty it is to serve them. The departments,

having direct interface with the public, understandably have a larger number of complaints

pertaining to them. This Office has been making recommendations in its Annual Reports, as

well as in individual cases, aimed at bringing about systematic improvement. Keeping in

view the diverse set of factors, deduced from the complaints, having direct impact on various

segments of society, recommendations: General — applicable to all agencies, and Specific —

relevant to the concerned agency, are made for due consideration and implementation by the

authorities at all levels.

1. DEPARTMENTAL GRIEVANCE REDRESS SYSTEM

Complaints received indicated that in many cases the grievances were caused

by inaction, delay or excessive use of authority by the officers/officials. Even where laws,

rules and regulations relevant to the departments provide time bound mechanism to deal with

public issues, are not adhered to in letter and spirit. Since similar complaints are received

repeatedly, it can be presumed that steps are not taken to address the root cause of the

complaints. Reports received on implementation of our recommendations rarely indicate that

institutional arrangements were made by the agencies to deal with the grievances with a view

to improving the administration as a whole, by taking measures which would stop recurrence

of these grievances. Some of the model practiced by other countries for redressal of

grievances regarding delivery of services are:

i) Assessment of Citizens’ Satisfaction Level

In order to ascertain citizens’ satisfaction level about quality and adequacy of

services delivered and the problems faced by them viz-a-viz service providers,

random household survey was carried out in Bangalore in 1994. In the light of

inputs received, planners and providers changed their policies and

management style. Another survey conducted in 1999, indicated encouraging

improvements and also highlighted weak areas. These surveys not only

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covered social services but also included police. The departments should

consider getting their standing in the opinion of end-users assessed and

improve their systems to meet their expectations as far as possible. Survey

formats can be professionally designed according to the nature of service.

ii) Social Audit of Services and Providers

This model has been adopted by many countries around the globe. It includes:

a) Carrying out random household survey to collect information about services being used by them.

b) Collection of information from agencies about services being provided by them.

c) Tabulation of information collected, inferences drawn and providers and users brought together to have a constructive dialogue about the findings.

d) The outcome of first three steps is drawn up, enlisting weak areas, and suggestions are made for future improvement.

e) Finally, these suggestions are placed before the planners, providers, implementers and users to arrive at doables within agreed time frame.

iii) Citizen’s Charter

This model was developed and implemented in U.K. in 1991. It encompasses:

a) Laying down standards of public services; b) Elaborate complaint handling procedure; c) Publicized targets and standards of performance; d) Transparency and accountability.

With certain modifications and improvements, it was further strengthened and

reinitiated in 1998, under a new caption, ‘SERVICE FIRST’. Since then, it

has been adopted by some other countries as well, including Australia, India

and Malaysia. The model covers all social sectors.

iv) Administrative Laws and Procedures:

Administrative agencies, charged with regulating assigned area of conduct,

are created through statutes. They are mandated to deliver services to people

in the prescribed manner. Norms of justice include right to represent and

appeal before a competent authority against any administrative excess

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committed against a person. There are scores of situations where

administrative procedures lack provision to adequately compensate an

aggrieved person and hold a wrong doer responsible e.g. delay in issuing

certificate/degree by an examining body, loss of academic year for non

appearance in examination due to delay in issuing roll number slip; extortion

of money by police, property tax officials, revenue staff or utility services

providers; unlawful delay in sanctioning retirement benefits; nonpayment of

outstanding dues etc. There is an urgent need that the administrative

departments scrutinize their relevant laws and make appropriate provisions to

not only rectify a wrong done to a person but also to adequately compensate

him and hold the concerned officer/official accountable for it. Required

procedures may be codified and widely publicized for information of the

public.

v) Appointment of Principal Officers:

Subsection 4 of section 10 of the Punjab Office of the Ombudsman Act, 1997,

envisages that there shall be a Principal Officer for each Agency. On our

taking up matter with the Government, the instructions were issued to all

departments for appointing Principal Officers. Till the close of calendar year,

18 departments and 9 agencies had nominated their Principal Officers and

others were being urged to do so without further delay. In order to make this

arrangement more meaningful and helpful in public grievance redressal, it

would be appropriate that:

a) Principal Officer is declared as focal person to receive complaints within the department, get these decided and communicate the outcome to the complainant within the prescribed period;

b) Principal Officer should register all such complaints received, inform the complainant about registration number of his complaint and update him about the progress;

c) At the close of a calendar year, he should generate a report for the Administrative Secretary of the department, who should take corrective measures where required;

d) Administrative Secretaries or Principal Officer should furnish annual report on complaint handling to the Chief Secretary as well as to the Office of the Ombudsman;

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e) If required, Rules of Business may suitably be amended to make room for Departmental Grievance Redress System and reporting to the Ombudsman.

The approaches adopted elsewhere with advantage have been briefly

described for the information of Administrative Secretaries and Agencies to adopt anyone or

devise indigenous method to carry out social audit of services being provided by them.

Findings of such surveys can serve as leads for policy makers to formulate and implement

systems to enhance capacity, transparency and monitoring to improve quality and quantity of

services being delivered in all sectors.

2. DELAY IN COMPLETION OF DEVELOPMENT WORKS

Works to develop new facilities and repair/maintain existing infrastructure are

executed by the Engineering Departments. Different complaints received highlighted

problems caused by delay in completing works e.g.,

a) Transport and passengers faced arduous travelling conditions because many roads under construction were left incomplete or work suspended for long duration after laying sub-base and base;

b) Residents of different localities faced sanitation problems because of drains and sewerage lines left incomplete or which get choked due to poor maintenance;

c) Residents of different areas faced severe shortage of clean drinking water because of incomplete water supply schemes or non functioning schemes resulting from disagreement about sources of meeting operational and maintenance costs;

d) Students were denied benefits of properly finished/completed buildings because the work was abandoned halfway. Number of health facilities have been reportedly lying incomplete and the investment made is deteriorating without providing any benefit to the people.

Investigation of complaints revealed that schemes remained incomplete or

were delayed because of many reasons. Some of these are:

a) Delay in completing formalities i.e. detailed cost estimates, approval of PC-1, administrative approval, technical sanction, tendering and award of contract etc.

b) Inadequate funding, delayed releases, overstretched time schedules, carrying forward and revision of estimates.

c) Improper and inadequate supervision by the site/incharge engineers. It has also been observed that PC–IVs of schemes are seldom submitted by the

executing agencies. The Engineering Departments should carry out social audit of their

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performance. In the light of findings, P&D, Finance and Engineering Departments should

devise ways and means for timely completion of works in the larger public interest.

3. IMPLEMENTATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS

Since the establishment of this Office, 93,207 complaints were received and

90,767 were disposed of till 31.12.2005. On the basis of information gathered from these

complaints, recommendations were included in our earlier Annual Reports with a view to

improving governance in the larger interest of the people. This has nexus with social

development, poverty reduction and satisfaction of people about functioning of the

government institutions. The Governor Punjab and the Chief Minister Punjab had directed

government departments for implementing recommendations contained in our report 2004.

These instructions were circulated to all the Secretaries by I&C Wing of S&GAD. Till the

close of calendar year 2005, both General and Specific recommendations had been

implemented by two, General recommendations by three and Specific recommendations by

eleven departments and the matter is being pursued with the remaining departments. Our

recommendations covered issues arising out of interaction between government officers and

citizens affecting their rights. We still maintain that serious consideration and

implementation of the recommendations would improve governance and enhance trust of

people in the government. Prompt consideration and implementation of the recommendations

is reiterated.

4. UNNECESSARY / INCOMPLETE REFERENCES TO FINANCE AND SERVICES & GENERAL ADMINISTRATION DEPARTMENTS

While investigating a number of complaints, it was observed that delay in

redressing grievances of complainants by the concerned Agencies occurred because

references had been made to Finance or Services & General Administration Departments

seeking advice. It was found that grievance could have been redressed by the Department

itself while remaining within the existing rules and policy relevant to the issue. The

references mostly pertained to cases of reimbursement of medical charges, grant of selection

grade/move over, fixation of pay, antedated proforma promotion, payment of outstanding

dues etc. From majority of complaints processed, it transpired that such references were

made just to cover delay occurred in the department for disposal of the cases. Some of the

references made were found incomplete and not self-contained resulting in a chain of

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communication between the Agency and the S&GAD/Finance Department. In many cases

information asked by the S&GAD/Finance Department was provided piecemeal with the

result that the issuance of requisite advice was delayed. In many such cases, outcome was

mere delay because S&GAD/Finance Department advised that the agency was itself

competent under the rules/policy of the government to decide the matter. In order to avoid

delays and reduce unnecessary communication, Administrative Secretaries of the

departments should ensure that only those issues are referred to S&GAD/Finance

Department where solution in the rules/regulations/policies is not available and in case it is

unavoidable, the reference should be complete in all respects and sent with copies of relevant

documents.

5. POLICY FOR ALLOTMENT OF GOVERNMENT ACCOMMODATION AT DISTRICT LEVEL

Official residences at district level are categorized as: pooled — on the

charge of DCO and departmental — on the charge of the head of the concerned

department. A number of complaints were received about allotment of official

accommodation against merit/seniority, illegal ejectment from a validly allotted

accommodation or even charging penal rent without any justification. During

investigation of complaints, agencies could not produce codified policy for allotment of

official accommodation at district level under the charge of the department. To curb

discrimination ensuring merit based allotment of accommodation, each department may

frame a policy and implement it in all the districts. The policy issued by the S&GAD can

provide guidance to other departments.

6. TRAINING IN SERVICE AND DISCIPLINARY RULES/LAWS

While investigating a number of complaints, it has been observed that in some

cases, authorities did not follow provisions of laws/rules correctly. This resulted in

grievances to the officials. While making appointments, provision of Recruitment Policy are

also not followed in some cases. In this regard, majority of complaints pertained to

Education, Health and Engineering Departments. By imparting training to the relevant

authorities in different departments in laws/rules, incidents of maladministration can be

reduced entailing improvement in management of human resource. It is suggested that

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administrative departments should make arrangements to impart training to their officers

through Management and Professional Development Department or some other arrangement.

7. PURCHASE POWER PARITY OF MONEY

In hundreds of complaints common grievance voiced has been non

payment/delay in payment of amounts that had become due e.g. pension, reimbursement of

medical charges, final bills and securities and compensation of land acquired/taken over for

development purposes. In many instances, delay stretched over more than a decade. Money

has time value. With the passage of time, its purchasing power may erode because of various

economic factors, including inflation. Equity, justice and fair play demand that outstanding

dues may be paid to the deserving persons at par with the present day value, determined in

accordance with the rate of inflation. It may not be out of place to mention that all

government agencies, including utility services, impose late payment charges on amounts not

paid within the specified period.

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DEPARTMENTS / AGENCIES

1. ANTI CORRUPTION ESTABLISHMENT

Complaints received in this Office concerning the Anti Corruption

Establishment showed that:

i) In some cases the Anti Corruption Establishment did not initiate enquiry/legal action under the Anti Corruption Laws against an employee on the plea that departmental disciplinary proceedings had been initiated against the employee concerned. The S&GAD vide their letter No. SORI(S&GAD)1-3/90 dated 20.7.1991, clarified that departmental and criminal proceedings in corruption cases against government officials were mutually exclusive. Director General, Anti Corruption Establishment may, therefore, circulate the clarification provided by the S&GAD to all his subordinate offices so that wherever criminal action is warranted, it should not be pended on the pretext that disciplinary proceedings have been initiated against the official concerned.

ii) At times, criminal cases registered under various provisions of laws were dropped under orders of various authorities of Anti Corruption Establishment. The procedural law applicable in these cases is the Code of Criminal Procedure and final report with regard to the result of investigation has to be submitted to the competent court as required by section 173 Cr.P.C. It is for the court concerned to agree or not to agree to the conclusion drawn by the Investigating Officer. The point has also been settled in Writ Petition No. 4392 of 2003 wherein the Hon’ble High Court had directed that, in future, if the competent authority after completion of the investigation reaches the conclusion that the case is liable to be dropped or recommended for departmental action, the final report as required u/s 173 Cr.P.C. shall invariably be submitted before the learned Special Judge, Anti Corruption concerned, who, under the Code, acts as a Magistrate because under subsection (3) to section 6 of the Pakistan Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1958, Chapter XX (OF THE TRIAL OF CASES BY MAGISTRATES) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 is applicable to trial of cases before them under this Act and under subsection (3) of section 173 Cr.P.C. he may agree or disagree with the same after considering the evidence collected so far, while giving reasons. It is, therefore, recommended that Director General, Anti Corruption Establishment may bring the correct legal position to the notice of all concerned and require the Investigating Officers to forward the report under section 173 Cr.P.C. before the competent court after investigation of a criminal case. Dropping of a criminal case after its registration by an officer of the Anti Corruption Establishment is not in accordance with the law and should not be resorted to.

iii) In some cases it has also been noticed that enquiries in the Anti Corruption Establishment were filed on the ground that the complainant was not interested in pursuing the allegations, whereas the complainant when contacted by this Office denied it. It would be advisable if the Anti Corruption

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Establishment obtains a written confirmation from the complainant in the form of an affidavit, if he is not interested in pursuing that complaint. However, in some cases, interest or disinterest of the complainant should be of little consequence. The Anti Corruption Establishment can and should investigate the allegations with the help of the record available with the department.

iv) Investigation of complaints in this Office has revealed that in some cases months and even years have passed since the case was registered and the final report under section 173 Cr.P.C. had not been submitted to the competent court. It would be in the interest of combating corruption, as well as justice, that the investigation is completed as promptly as possible.

2. BAIT-UL-MAL

Bait-ul-Mal provides financial assistance to needy persons, marriage grants,

scholarships to students and interest free loans. The complaints received indicate that in some

cases the disbursement is inordinately delayed because of delay in meeting of the District

Bait-ul-Mal Committee, and time taken to complete other formalities. It is recommended that

ways and means for expeditiously processing the applications and disbursing timely

assistance to deserving persons may be found.

3. BENEVOLENT FUND

If judged solely on the basis of number of complaints received in this Office,

one is led to conclude that the management of the Fund needs radical and immediate

improvement. Complaints are rampant where, even in payment of monthly grants to widows,

there are delays of months and in some cases years. The reason reported by the district

officers for this state of affairs is that funds provided to them are not adequate to meet the

total liability on account of monthly grants. Scholarships for students are also delayed for

years and the reason advanced for this is shortage of staff in the office of the Provincial

Board. There are instances where applications were rejected on unconvincing grounds. As

recommended earlier also, the entire system needs to be reviewed to make it more efficient

and serve the purpose for which the scheme was launched. It is recommended that:

i) Provincial Board must examine, as early as possible, whether it is in a position to meet the total liability already created as well the liability being created as an ongoing process. In case, the means available are inadequate to meet the liability, ways should be found to restore the balance between income and expenditure on this account.

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ii) Provincial Benevolent Fund Board must get the annual requirements properly worked out by the District Boards and provide them adequate funds to meet the requirement, and the Provincial Board can and, in fact, should check and verify that the demand has been worked out correctly. Release of the acquired amounts can be made in bi-annual or even quarterly installments but it must be provided well in time so that widows and orphan children do not have to wait for long period to receive the grant and in the meantime make unpleasant and frustrating visits to the district offices and to the bank branches.

iii) Provincial Benevolent Fund Board should expeditiously decide all applications received by it for grant of educational scholarships. Shortage of staff as the reason quoted in the report submitted in this Office needs to be examined and the constraint, if found legitimate be removed at the earliest. The recommendation made last year that there should be no discrimination in the amount of scholarship for the same level of studies on the basis of scale of the government servants, is reiterated.

iv) Provincial Benevolent Fund Board should immediately prepare a small booklet containing details of various benefits extended to serving/invalidated/retired government servants and their families as well as the families of deceased government servants. The information must contain time limits fixed for submitting applications for the grants as well as the documents which should be provided. It is strongly recommended that non provision of documents being rectifiable omission, adequate opportunity must be given to the applicant to rectify this omission instead of rejecting his application. Similarly, the issue of limitation must be applied in a lenient manner, particularly in cases where uneducated widows are seeking assistance.

4. COMMUNICATION & WORKS

Specific problems which have come to light from the complaints in this Office about

the Communication & Works Department and the measures which the department needs to

take to address these problems are enumerated below:-

i) Work is taken in hand at times particularly in construction of roads, without lawfully acquiring the land used for construction. The proprietors who are generally ignorant about their constitutional and legal right, apply for compensation at a latter stage when even if the claim is admitted as genuine, it takes months, if not longer, to arrange funds for payment of compensation. The Department must ensure that either the owners voluntarily and willingly hand over the land to the department without payment of compensation or it is compulsorily acquired under the Land Acquisition Act. In either case, the proceedings should be completed promptly and the land got mutated in the name of the department.

ii) Even when big road projects, entailing long gestation periods are taken up, proper arrangements for an alternative road for smooth movement of traffic is not made. In one case, it was reported by the department that funds had not

24

been allocated in the scheme for an alternative passage. To avoid damage to vehicles and resultant loss to owners and national economy, inconvenience to the travelling public and possibility of road accidents, the Department should make a provision in all estimates of construction of roads for properly developing and maintaining an alternative path for vehicular traffic, till the road has been constructed / repaired.

iii) Although, in project documents completion period of every project is laid down, yet it has been noticed that extensions in the completion period are granted in a mechanical manner by engineers incharge. Delayed completion of projects not only causes inconvenience to the public, but also deprives them of the benefits which would have accrued, if it had been completed in time. The departmental officers should carefully calculate the completion period and then ensure that funds are provided according to the completion schedule and the contractor made to complete the project within the time limit otherwise he should be suitably penalized in accordance with the terms of the contract.

iv) A number of complaints are received about delay even in refund of security deposit after the work has been completed for months and even longer in some cases. It has also been noticed that in some cases the security deposit is not kept in accordance with the relevant rules/instructions. Secretary C&W Department should issue instructions to all Executive Engineers that security deposit must be kept in accordance with the rules/instructions and returned after expiry of the mandatory period following satisfactory completion of the project.

v) Instances have also come to light where schemes even of schools and basic health units were abandoned incomplete for one reason or the other. There is a strong possibility of the funds already utilized going waste, if these schemes are allowed to deteriorate with the passage of time. The department should, therefore, undertake a comprehensive survey of the schemes which are lying incomplete, identify those which need to be completed on priority basis and then take steps for their completion as early as possible. Need for completion of other incomplete schemes should also be properly evaluated, and then action taken on the basis of their evaluation.

vi) In some cases, a scheme if expected to be completed within the financial year but for some reasons it is not, the result is that it becomes unfunded in the next financial year. An arrangement needs to be worked out to provide funds for such schemes right in the beginning of the financial year so that these can be completed and the problems faced by the contractor, general public and the user departments are avoided.

vii) It has also come to notice that Buildings Department engages contingent paid maintenance staff for BHUs/RHCs. The budget is provided by the Health Department but the payment is then made by the Buildings Department. The grievance voiced by the employees is that their pay is delayed for months because of official apathy. The Department should take steps that if contingent paid staff is justified and engaged at some place, it is paid for its services in time.

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5. DISTRICT GOVERNMENTS/ TEHSIL MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATIONS

Since the establishment of District Governments / Tehsil Municipal

Administrations/Union Administrations in 2002, teething problems faced are being gradually

solved and these should now start functioning smoothly. The complaints received indicate

some difficulties experienced by the public as well as the employees. These difficulties need

to be addressed to solve these problems as recorded below:

i) Retired employees of former Local Councils, who have now become employees of the District Governments, are not getting their post retirement benefits primarily because of delay on the part of TMAs to deposit their share of the pension contribution. The employees of the erstwhile Local Councils who are still with the TMAs are by and large in a worse position, as far as payment of gratuity and pension is concerned. Although LG&RD Department vide its No. SO-IV(LG)1-10/2002 dated 14.4.2004, had declared pension liability as the first charge on the budget and had also directed that, where necessary, funds for this purpose be transferred from the development budget also, yet pensioners are suffering because of delay in payment of gratuity/pension. All tiers of the devolved set up need to follow the policy instructions so that the grievances of the retired and retiring employees are redressed.

ii) A number of complaints are received particularly in respect of TMAs, so far as solid waste disposal and maintenance of water supply and sewerage facilities are concerned. These are mandatory responsibilities of TMAs and they need to make concerted efforts to address these problems and improve their performance in delivery of service.

iii) Complaints received also show that in a number of cases maintenance of roads transferred to the District Governments is not upto the mark. The District Governments should prepare their annual plans of maintenance of roads given under their charge. They should then ensure its systemic and proper implementation.

6. EDUCATION

i) The department has been making recruitment of Educators through Recruitment Policies issued from time to time. Complaints received show that either the provisions of the policy are not properly understood or these are knowingly violated. It would be appropriate if the Education Department sends checking teams to various districts to see that the recruitment being made is strictly in accordance with the policy. Maintenance of record by the Recruitment Committees, particularly preparation of merit lists, in most cases leaves a lot to be desired. The lists as prepared in some cases do not inspire confidence. The Heads of Recruitment Committees need to be advised to prepare the merit lists in a neat and tidy manner in accordance with policy. All cuttings must be authenticated. The lists should bear signatures of all the members of the Committee.

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ii) It has also come to notice that either on account of transfer of a teacher or by resorting to the notorious practice of ‘temporary duty’, some schools are made to close down. The concerned supervisory officers need to be told very clearly not to resort to ‘temporary duty’ and not to transfer a teacher, if it would result in the closure of the school. Very strict action should be taken against those officers who, despite clear prohibition, continue to assign ‘temporary duty’, either under pressure from someone or for any other consideration.

iii) The government has already imposed a ban on physical punishment to the students. It is recommended that steps be taken to strictly enforce it because complaints continue to be lodged where the teachers are accused of awarding physical punishment to students or to make them do their domestic work.

iv) There are instances where although the teaching staff is provided yet all or some of them do not regularly attend the school. Apparently, a well spread supervisory set up exists in the Department and this malady has remained unchecked because of their complacency. In all cases of prolonged absence of teachers, if the supervisory officer has not taken any remedial steps, action should be taken against him.

v) Investigation of some complaints revealed that the teaching staff provided in a number of cases was not commensurate with the number of students. The number of teachers in a school/college needs to be kept under continuous review so that every educational institution gets teaching staff in accordance with the requirement and not on the basis of convenience of the teaching staff itself or any other consideration. In some cases even when readjustment/transfer is warranted in public interest, it is not possible to do so because of prolonged ban on transfers in the department. A way has to be found to allow transfer when strong administrative considerations so warrant.

vi) Although, school specific appointments made under the Recruitment Policy require that the preference shown by a candidate, if supported by his position in the merit list, must be kept in view while offering an Educator’s job, yet the department may clarify to all appointing authorities that in no case should the preference by the candidates be ignored.

7. ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION

What needs to be done to arrest the damage being caused to the environment

is so obvious that hardly any recommendation from this Office is warranted. Inadequate solid

waste disposal, malfunctioning sewerage systems, smoke emitting vehicles, noise pollution,

indiscriminate use of pesticides and chemicals are all seriously damaging the environment.

What needs is a multi pronged strategy to address the problem before it becomes too late.

8. EXCISE & TAXATION

There is extensive interaction between the Excise & Taxation Department and

residents of urban areas in particular in matters of assessment and payment of property tax,

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registration and transfer of motor vehicle and issuance of permits for various items. It is

proposed that the department should consider the following recommendations to improve its

working:

i) This Office is of the considered view that vast difference maintained in the property tax of residential properties, which are self occupied and those which have been rented out, is the biggest single source of corruption. Properties are shown on rent and assessed at a high level of property tax and subsequently by showing these as self occupied, the liability of property tax is reduced drastically. Recommendation to do away with this disparity can be argued by pointing out that it is arbitrary and has no logical rationale and also because it opens an often availed avenue for corruption.

ii) Investigation of complaints has revealed that the data collected during periodic surveys for assessment of property tax is not very accurate and reliable. Even area of the property, name of the owner, whether the property is self occupied or is on rent is recorded incorrectly. The surveys must be carried out in a more systematic and meaningful manner, after giving the owners of the properties in a particular area prior notice of the date and time of survey, so that correct information is collected.

iii) It has also come to light that notices issued for payment of property tax do not contain full particulars and, in many cases, were issued with considerable delay. Instructions be issued to all concerned to properly fill all columns of the notice in a legible hand and serve these on the assessee well in time.

iv) Motor Vehicle Taxation Rules do not empower the officials of the department to impound the vehicles whose motor vehicles tax has not been paid. Whereas departmental officials are at liberty to take legal steps for recovery of the outstanding tax, they have no power to impound the vehicles or the documents. Instructions to this effect need to be issued.

v) Although the department has issued a detailed procedure for transfer of vehicles, yet instances of dubious transfers of vehicles in disregard of the procedure, have come to notice. Even the detailed procedure laid down requires to be re-examined and the possibility/desirability of requiring the transferer to appear before the Motor Registration Authority in person, needs to be examined to avoid cases of fraudulent transfer.

vi) Confiscated or abandoned vehicles are put to auction by various agencies. In some cases these vehicles require extensive repairs. Excise & Taxation Department demands certificate from the manufacturer/authorized assemblers for their registration. Supplying this certificate is not possible in all cases. A way out has to be found for registration of these vehicles because the auction purchaser has paid the price and bought these vehicles from a government agency.

vii) Government has allowed exemption from property tax to retired government servants upto one kanal in case of self occupied houses. In some cases, the department has been refusing this concession on the plea that a part of the property is being used for commercial purpose. Law and Parliamentary Affairs Department has clarified that if a part of the property is being used for

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commercial purposes, the exemption can be provided for the proportionate share of the property which is under self occupation. Instructions need to be circulated to all taxation authorities for compliance, so that those entitled to this relief are not denied it and do not have to run from one office to the other to get it.

viii) The department comes in contact with a very large number of people who raise grievances of various kinds before the departmental officials. All offices of the Taxation Department must have a proper system of receiving the applications, entering these in the registers and intimating the applicant of the action taken on these applications.

9. FINANCE

i) Second proviso to sub rule (4) of rule 1.13 of the Punjab General Provident This Office is pursuing the matter with the Departments/Agencies which have not submitted final reports as yet. Fund Rules 1978, provides that if a person entitled to the payment of G.P. Fund does not send an application in that behalf within six months of the date on which the amount standing to the credit of the subscriber has become payable, interest shall not be payable beyond the end of the sixth month after the month in which the amount becomes payable. It was observed that limitation of six months fixed in the said proviso created hardships for the widows whose husbands died during service or shortly after retirement. Because of ‘iddat’ to be observed under the Muslim Law, a widow cannot move freely. Where there is no male adult member, the widow cannot approach the authority in time to get her case initiated for grant of pension/gratuity and payment of G.P. Fund. The widow who cannot approach the AG Punjab within six months of retirement of her husband for payment of G.P. Fund, is deprived of interest for the period beyond six months. To save widows from the loss, because of circumstances beyond their control, possibility of enhancing limitation period from six months by the period of ‘iddat’, may be considered.

ii) It has been noticed that in a large number of cases, gratuity/pension amount is withheld if there are some pending audit paras against a retiring government servant. Finance Department vide their No.FD(M-Rec)2-18/2001(Advice) of the 19th November, 2001 clarified that where any audit para is pending against a retiring government servant, the pension for such employee may not be withheld and an undertaking on the stamp paper may be obtained from the retiring government servant that in cases the recovery is established at any stage against the individual, then he will be liable to pay the amount of recovery. Many pension sanctioning authorities are acting in disregard of these instructions. It is proposed that these clear instructions may be brought to the notice of all Administrative Secretaries with the advice to have these noted by all Pension Sanctioning Authorities for strict compliance.

10. FOOD

i) While dealing with the complaints pertaining to the Food Department, it has come to notice that most of the complaints are regarding delay in payment of

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dues to carriage and handling contractors engaged by the Food Department. It is proposed that these tasks should be assigned on the basis of properly drafted, vetted and executed agreements. The department should ensure that the work is completed within the time limit laid down in the agreement and according to the agreed standards/specifications. After the work has been completed, payment due to the contractor should be expeditiously finalized. There is no justification for withholding payment on the plea that budget provision does not exist. Allocation should be made by the department before the work is allotted.

ii) There are numerous cases in the Food Department where the officials are being proceeded against for causing loss or damage to government property, which is wheat and/or ‘bardana’ in most of the cases. Immediate steps are needed to ensure that proceedings taken up under PRSO 2000 are completed expeditiously and in any case recovery of the loss caused by an official is made only after a proper order imposing this penalty has been passed in this respect upon the official concerned. Particular urgency to finalize the disciplinary proceedings should be shown in respect of officials due to retire in the near future because undecided cases of loss to government result in delay in decision of pension and other retirement benefits.

11. FORESTRY, WILDLIFE & FISHERIES

The complaints received indicate inordinate delay in payment of pensionary

benefits to retired employees. Their investigation revealed that the delay was caused because

of some loss reported to have been caused by the employee. It is clear that recovery of loss is

possible if, as a result of disciplinary proceedings, imposition of penalty of loss caused by the

official has been imposed after following the prescribed procedure. It is recommended that

the department should take steps for expeditiously finalizing the disciplinary proceedings and

particularly in cases of employees due to retire in the near future. Settlement of cases of loss

before retirement of an official will facilitate settlement of the payment of pension and other

retirement benefits.

12. HEALTH

i) A large number of complaints are received alleging carelessness, neglect and malpractices by some of the staff in government hospitals. In many cases, deaths are attributed to neglect and apathy of the staff. Enquiries held in these cases either by some member of the staff of the same hospital or by a nominee of the EDO(Health) concerned, rarely satisfy the complainant. In view of the number of complaints and the nature of allegations, it is imperative that the Health Department sets up independent enquiry commissions at various places which should thoroughly examine the allegations of malpractices and neglect and the commissions should be of such level and status as inspire confidence. It is appropriate that inquiries in these cases of serious allegations are properly inquired into to rehabilitate public confidence.

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ii) The complaints received also showed that in the absence of properly framed and notified rules, malpractices are committed under the cover of institutional/private practice. This Office is of the view that in no case should priority of an operation or any other medical or surgical intervention depend on the fact whether patient concerned is a paying private patient, entitled for reimbursement by the government or for free treatment in the hospital. Similarly, in no case, a situation be created where a patient once admitted for free treatment is made to change his category as a private paying patient. All these issues can be catered for in the rules which should have been in place by now and should not be delayed any further.

iii) The damage being caused by quacks to the health of the people is no secret. They openly advertise and make claims which are obviously false and misleading. The recommendations made earlier for the properly drafted law to check rampant quackery is reiterated. Health is a provincial subject and the department would be serving the people if the law is promulgated without undue delay.

iv) West Pakistan Government Servants (Medical Attendance) Rules, 1959, need to be re-examined to bring these in line with the changed situation and circumstances. Till this review is done, the rules need to be followed. Instances have come to notice where a patient referred to a hospital other than a government hospital as provided in rule 6(1)(b) of the Rules ibid, is not reimbursed his claim and the matter is unnecessarily referred for relaxation. What has already been provided in the rules should neither be delayed nor denied.

v) National Programme for Family Planning and Primary Health Care is being implemented by the Health Department. Large scale recruitment of Lady Health Workers and Lady Health Supervisors has been and is periodically made even now but there is no clearly laid down recruitment policy with properly laid down standards and the result is that different malpractices are noticed in the process and appointment of undeserving applicants made. The Health Department should frame a proper recruitment policy as well as rules governing the service of these employees. Another related problem noticed during processing of complaints is that because of delay in receipt of funds from the Federal Government, salaries of these employees remain unpaid for long period. This issue needs to be solved with a view to making payment of their monthly salary to the employees regularly and without delay.

13. HOUSING, URBAN DEVELOPMENT & PUBLIC HEALTH ENGINEERING

i) Issue of allotment of plots under various quotas is still pending final decision in a number of cases. Prior to 1995, applications against these quotas were under process and in some cases balloting had also been held. Thereafter, the quotas were abolished and the applicants who had got plots in balloting were not issued allotment letters. These cases have been examined by Scrutiny Committee. In view of the time which has already passed, it is stressed that the department must assign top priority to decide these held up cases extremely expeditiously.

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ii) Punjab Housing and Town Planning Agency has been created as an autonomous body attached with HUD&PHE Department. In view of the new status, the service rules of the employees are required to be notified. In the absence of the rules, service matters such as promotion, move over etc. of the employees are awaiting settlement. The matter needs immediate attention and the rules need to be formulated and notified as early as possible.

iii) Public Health Engineering is undertaking a very big programme of providing safe drinking water to the people. Whereas need for safe drinking water is evident, an equally important issue which the department should examine and come out with a solution to is to make the schemes sustainable. There are numerous cases highlighted in the complaints received in this Office where water supply schemes set up earlier are not functioning and no Agency is prepared to take the responsibility to even pay the employees who have not been terminated. Good planning requires that not only the schemes already completed are maintained and operated, the employees engaged also paid their dues regularly and schemes be launched with a strategy of their subsequent maintenance and operation having been worked out.

14. IRRIGATION & POWER

i) A large number of complaints have been received from the contractors who have not been paid for the works executed by them. The reasons generally given by departmental authorities for non payment are either non observance of some formalities before or during award of work or the funds either being not available or having lapsed. Some of the liabilities have been examined by three different scrutiny committees and are yet to be paid. The department must take steps to ensure that works are allotted after all formalities have been completed and funds for their execution are available. In fact, the tender notice issued may also have a certificate to the effect that all codal formalities have been completed as well as the information about the funds available for the scheme.

ii) An equally large number of complaints pertains to non payment of compensation for the land utilized by the department for execution of its development schemes. The department can take over the land free of cost only with the consent of the owners concerned. Otherwise it has to be acquired compulsorily on payment of fairly assessed compensation in accordance with the law. In either case, the department should get the land mutated also in its name. It should also ensure that before a work is taken up, land acquisition proceedings — if it has to resort to compulsory acquisition — are completed and the payment of assessed compensation made to the right holders.

iii) In some cases complaints have been received demanding compensation for the crops and structures for the damage caused by a breach in a canal or a distributary. The department should have a mechanism of getting each case of breach enquired through an independent enquiry committee which should also fix responsibility for the breach. Needless to say that the enquiries conducted by departmental officials suffer from lack of credibility. All cases of breach should be referred to this independent enquiry committee with properly

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framed terms of reference of the enquiry. The department should resort to imposition of ‘Tawan’ only if the enquiry committee concludes that the breach was caused by the irrigators.

iv) The question of adequate water supply at the ‘tails’ continues to remain unsettled. Concerned SDO and the Overseer should be made personally responsible to frequently check the water supply at the tail to ensure that the irrigators concerned are getting their due share.

v) Instances have also come to notice where the ‘Khatoni Nehri/Dhal Bach’ sent to the revenue officers for recovery contained mistakes and interpolations. The khatoni must be free from mistakes, cuttings and each page must have been signed by a responsible officer.

15. LABOUR & HUMAN RESOURCE

i) A number of benefits are provided to workers by the Punjab Employees Social Security Institution and the Workers Welfare Board. The complaints received indicate that some of the benefits are not availed of or not provided on technical grounds, despite submission of applications. In view of the level of education of workers and their family members it is proposed that:

a) The government should make the employer responsible for informing the workers of the benefits available to them under the law and also initiating the cases for payment;

b) The issue of limitation for seeking various benefits should be re-examined by the department to make it more liberal so that mere limitation does not come in the way of getting these benefits.

ii) In pursuance of the amendment made on 23.9.2002 in the Punjab Weights and Measures (International System) Enforcement Act, 1975, Controller Weights and Measures issued clear instructions to all District Officers Labour informing them that by virtue of these amendments, the institution of licensed repairers stands cancelled. It required them to take following steps:

a) Ensure surrender of original licence from all the licence holders (defunct) and furnish a compliance report;

b) No receipt book for repairing charges, as per past practice, should be issued in future;

c) No government fee should be collected through any outsider;

d) The business community is free to get the Weights Measures repaired through the capable and honest person of their choice;

e) A wide publicity should be given through the Associations of local shopkeepers and the chambers of commerce, regarding the amendment made in the law and the new system to replace the old exploitative system.

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Complaints have been received in this Office alleging that the law and the resultant instructions issued by the Controller Weights and Measures are not being followed faithfully in some districts. Secretary Labour should take steps to publicize the present system of repair of weights and measures and also ensure through frequent checks and visits that the District Officers Labour are following the amended procedure and not stuck up in the old system giving cause of complaint to people.

16. LAHORE DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY

i) The Authority had implemented a number of housing schemes with a provision in the policies for exemption of developed plots in lieu of the land acquired by it. The complaints received vividly show that the issue of exemption remains undecided for years altogether. The Authority should proactively identify all pending cases, contact the owners, if necessary and settle all pending cases in accordance with its rules and policies. It should also update its record and streamline system of allocation of plots so that non-existing or already allotted plots are not allotted as exempted plots.

ii) The complaints filed also reveal that in matters of grant of completion certificate, approval of building plans etc. there is unexplained delay. The investigation shows that perhaps a system of accountability in these cases is either non existent or is rarely put in action. The Authority must implement a system whereby those causing delays are held accountable. Simultaneously, Directors Incharge should be made to ensure that the applications received from the citizens are decided expeditiously and the applicants informed of the decision.

iii) In view of the extensive interaction between the citizens and the Authority, it should have an in-house system of looking into complaints concerning it and redressal of legitimate grievances.

iv) On the basis of investigation of complaints about mushroom growth of parking stands in the city, it is recommended that every parking stand approved by the Authority, should have a prominent notice board stating that it is an approved parking stand. The parking fee to be paid should also be displayed and strict action should be taken against illegal stands and against lessees of approved stands found indulging in overcharging.

17. LIVESTOCK & DAIRY DEVELOPMENT

In a complaint it was highlighted that in some districts, veterinary

hospitals/dispensaries are providing medicines free of cost, whereas in others, livestock

farmers are made to pay for the medicines. The department may examine the issue and come

out with a system which should ensure equal treatment for all.

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18. LOCAL GOVERNMENT & RURAL DEVELOPMENT

i) Staff of the water supply schemes handed over to the TMAs continued to face problems of delay in payment of their salaries. The issue has been highlighted in a number of complaints and it is once again recommended that LG&RD Department should thoroughly examine this issue and take measures for ensuring that the water supply schemes handed over to the TMAs are maintained and operated properly and the staff employed to run these is paid regularly.

ii) Retired and retiring employees of TMAs continue to face difficulties in getting their gratuity, pension and other retirement benefits. This is attributed by the Local Councils to their poor financial position. LG&RD Department has already issued comprehensive instructions which authorize the TMAs even to transfer funds from development budget for payment of gratuity/pension. What is needed is to make TMAs adhere to the instructions.

iii) Payment to the contractors for the work done is another area in which the Local Councils need to be suitably advised to improve their working. Not only the agreements with the contractors be prepared carefully, their provisions should also be followed in letter and spirit. Local Councils must ensure that wherever work has been completed in a satisfactory manner in accordance with the terms and conditions of the agreement, payment of the amount due to the contractors and refund of security amount after the mandatory period is made without any undue delay.

iv) Attention of the Department is also drawn to the need for having well thought out building byelaws and their strict enforcement. These must have provisions for security, safety and well being of the residents and safeguards against natural calamities such as earthquake.

19. POLICE

During the year under report, 966 legally competent complaints were filed

which concerned the Police. These are further subdivided as under:-

i) Non registration/delay in registration of FIR 243 ii) Complaints about quality of investigation 327 iii) Extortion of money and maltreatment 287 iv) Involvement in criminal cases unlawfully 92 v) Traffic related 17 . Total 966 .

What ails the police force and what needs to be done is well known

and its repetition would serve no useful purpose. However, following

recommendations are made:-

i) While submitting reports to this Office in respect of the complaints referred to the DPOs, they must critically examine these. In fact, this

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gives them an opportunity of setting right a wrong which may have been done. More often than not, the reports prepared by the subordinates are forwarded mechanically by the DPO which needs to be avoided.

ii) In cases where after proper investigation by this Office a direction is issued for taking disciplinary action against a police official, it should be done expeditiously. Instances have come to notice where the punishment awarded was not commensurate with the gravity of the illegality committed by police official. It has to be ensured that ends of justice are met not only in acquitting the innocent but also appropriately punishing those who are guilty.

iii) Under section 173 Cr.P.C. every investigation under chapter XIV of Cr.P.C. has to result in police report to be submitted to the magistrate empowered to take cognizance of the offence. All officers incharge of police stations need to be directed to submit reports in respect of even untraced or unproved cases to the court concerned and then proceed further in the light of the orders passed by the court. A widely prevalent practice is that ‘cancellation’ or ‘untraced’ reports are prepared and kept in the Police Stations and the offices of supervisory police officers. This needs to be discontinued and action taken in accordance with section 173 Cr.P.C.

iv) In complaints about delay in arrest of the accused it has transpired that whereas in most cases action under section 87 Cr.P.C. is taken to get an accused declared proclaimed offender, the provision of section 88 Cr.P.C. under which attachment of property of absconding person can be made is rarely invoked. In the view of this Office, proceedings under section 88 Cr.P.C. can be more effective in the arrest of an absconding accused and all officers incharge of police station need to be made aware of existence of this provision of law and to follow these meticulously.

v) Deduction and utilization of benevolent fund is regulated by West Pakistan Government Servants Benevolent Fund Ordinance, 1960. Under a provision of this Ordinance, the government exempted government servants of Police contributing towards Police Welfare Fund, from the operation of the Ordinance. Under section 12 of now repealed Police Act 1861, West Pakistan Police Welfare Fund Rules 1965, were framed and a Welfare Fund was created which is being maintained by contribution through deduction from the pay of all ranks of the force at the prescribed rate. So far as Benevolent Fund is concerned this has also been created and is being maintained by deduction from the salary of the police force upto the rank of Inspector, through their respective Drawing and Disbursing Officers. It is, however, learnt that deduction from the gazetted staff is not being made because the Accountant General did not agree to make deductions due to absence of a legal cover for this purpose. In the view of this Office, the structure of Benevolent Fund in the police

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department does not have a legal cover, therefore, it should either be merged with the Police Welfare Fund or provided requisite legal cover and the scheme extended to gazetted officers also. Another option available is that the exemption granted under section 1(2) of the West Pakistan Government Servants Benevolent Fund Ordinance 1960 be withdrawn and the police force may also be covered under the existing Benevolent Fund Ordinance and Rules.

20. POPULATION WELFARE

Complaints received generally concern problems faced by the employees in

receiving financial grants from Benevolent Fund, amounts of group insurance etc. These

have arisen from frequent changes in the status of the department as Federal or Provincial

Government Agencies. The department has framed rules for payment of Benevolent Fund

grant and it is recommended that the rules be got approved expeditiously so that the

grievances of the employees can effectively be redressed.

21. REVENUE ADMINISTRATION

i) In the earlier reports, a number of areas needing attention, which had come to notice through complaints received in this Office, had been highlighted and suggestions made for improvement. The earlier recommendations are reiterated. The complaints received during the year under report, have again revealed that the quality of maintenance of revenue record, on which valuable rights of the people depend, is not satisfactory in a large number of cases. After the devolution, Deputy District Officers (Revenue) and District Officers (Revenue) were only supposed to devote their time to revenue administration. This should have resulted in improvement in preparation and maintenance of record. It is not universally correct that this has been the result. Steps need to be taken to make the record correct and reliable.

ii) It has transpired from the complaints pertaining to consolidation proceedings that in some cases consolidation proceedings have remained pending for decades. Instances of inferior land given to small and weak right holders have come to light. It is recommended that the consolidation proceedings must be time bound, depending on the volume of work and supervisory officer must also ensure that provisions of law and instructions are strictly observed.

22. SERVICES & GENERAL ADMINISTRATION

i) Despite time limits fixed in the Punjab Removal from Service (Special Powers) Ordinance and numerous instructions, instances of serious delays in finalization of disciplinary proceedings are widespread. Whereas this state of affairs leads to delay in punishing the guilty, it causes serious harm and loss to those who may ultimately be found innocent. Their cases of promotion, other service benefits are also delayed. There used to be an institutional

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arrangement in the S&GAD for monitoring disposal of disciplinary cases. The state of affairs, as reflected in the complaints received in this Office, demands that the S&GAD take up the task once again so that it is ensured that disciplinary proceedings are completed within the period laid down in the law and those responsible for the delays are also held accountable.

ii) Under section 12 subsection (1) of the Punjab Civil Servants Act, the competent authority can direct retirement of a civil servant after he has completed 20 years of service qualifying for pension. Identical corresponding option is not available to a civil servant to seek retirement after 20 years of service. He can do so only after he has put in 25 years of service qualifying for pension as laid down in rule 3.5(i) of the Pension Rules. Instances have come to notice where civil servants were allowed to retire before completion of 25 years of service qualifying for pension for which there is no provision in the law or the rules with the result that their pension cases were held up. The S&GAD may issue clear instructions to all administrative departments/competent authorities to entertain requests of civil servants for retirement before the age of superannuation only if they have completed 25 years of service qualifying for pension and this fact has been verified by the audit.

iii) Instances have also come to notice where officials in lower scales are not retired on attaining the age of superannuation on the basis of date of birth entered in their service books. It is the responsibility of the Head of Office under rule 5.2 of the Pension Rules to initiate pension case of employees in BS 1 to 15, one year before the date of superannuation. He should, therefore, have the dates of birth of the employees ascertained and lists of dates of superannuation also prepared so that pension cases are initiated one year before superannuation. The overstay of the employee beyond the age of superannuation can result in delay in payment of pension because the audit insists that the amount drawn as salary after the date of superannuation should be recovered. In such cases, the official concerned can hardly be held responsible for overstaying beyond the date of superannuation. Moreover, having actually worked for the period, he is entitled to get the pay. To settle this problem, it is recommended that S&GAD should draw the attention of all the Administrative Departments and through these to all Heads of Offices to issue orders of retirement on superannuation well before the date of retirement and strictly follow rule 5.2 of the Pension Rules.

iv) Under section 10 of the Disabled Persons (Employment and Rehabilitation) Ordinance, 1981, an establishment/department has to employee disabled person at the rate of not less than two percent of their total establishment. The S&GAD, in consultation with Law and Parliamentary Affairs Department clarified in 1989 that it is for the concerned organization to decide the categories of posts to be earmarked for the purpose and that it is not necessary to apply this quota to each category of posts. Further detailed instructions were issued by the S&GAD vide No.SOR-III-2-86/97 dated 24.6.2000 and No.SOR-IV(S&GAD)7-4/2003 dated 15.4.2004. All administrative departments were required to calculate two percent quota against posts reserved for initial recruitment and then to identify category of posts to be

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earmarked for recruitment of the disabled. From the complaints received in this office, it has been noted that instead of specifying the number of category of posts reserved for recruitment of disabled persons, a vague statement is made in the advertisement that two percent posts are reserved for the disabled. In actual fact, two percent of the advertised posts may not even come to one post. The result is that the object of making the reservation remained unfulfilled. It is, therefore, recommended that S&GAD should hold meetings with the administrative departments and get its detailed instructions circulated on 15.4.2004 implemented.

v) In all departments there are some common posts in BS 1 to 4, even with same nomenclature i.e. Naib Qasid, Sanitary Worker, Waterman, Driver, Dak Runner etc. but they have different rules for recruitment. Disparity in rules is on account of minimum qualification and experience prescribed for recruitment against these posts. Unequal treatment to job seekers with the same standing is against the principles of equity, justice and consistency. S&GAD should undertake an exercise to ascertain such disparities in recruitment rules of different departments, circulate model recruitment rules and advise all departments to amend these to bring rules at par providing equal opportunities to all job seekers with similar standing, unless there are convincing reasons warranting a different provision in any department.

vi) In the Rules of Business, different functions have been assigned to the Organization & Method Wing of the Services & General Administration Department. These include periodic review of an organization, staff, functions of departments and attached departments and improvement of general efficiency of economic execution of government business. Over the years, government setup has expanded creating new departments and their field formations alongwith new posts. By making efficient use of available resources; men and material, recurring costs can be reduced and resources so saved can be diverted to undertake more development projects. This can be made possible by continuous review of staffing requirements and performance of different organizations. In order to enhance efficiency of public sector organizations, research and development is an area which needs to be given due consideration. It would help improve public welfare through delivery of services as envisaged by the providers. We are of the considered view that O&M Wing of S&GAD should be made functional and strengthened to meaningfully carry out functions assigned to it in the Rules of Business entailing improved performance of government organizations.

vii) Government servants are made to compulsorily subscribe to G.P. Fund. Under Group Insurance Scheme an amount of premium is deducted from their salaries. They also contribute towards Benevolent Fund. In 2004, the government has also standardized method of ex-gratia relief to the family of a government servant who dies while in service. Regrettably, many government servants, particularly in the lower pay scales, are not even aware of the full benefits admissible to them under various heads. It is, therefore, proposed that all these benefits may be listed with references to the laws, notifications, policy letters under which these are admissible and it should be the responsibility of the head of the office to promptly take up cases at least of

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employees who die in service. Similarly, at the time of retirement, a copy of the list of benefits should also be handed over to the retiring official so that he can claim the benefits admissible to him.

23. UNIVERSITIES AND BOARDS OF INTERMEDIATE & SECONDARY EDUCATION

The complaints received in 2005 raised the problems which had already been

examined in previous years and specific recommendations made to redress these. The

recommendations made in last year’s report are reiterated. However, following further

recommendations are made:-

i) Some complainants stated that they were not issued roll numbers in time because the fee deposited by them was less than the prescribed fee. In some cases, when they were informed to make the deficiency it was already too late. This results in loss of valuable time of the candidates. It is, therefore, proposed that the Universities/Boards Authorities should adequately publicize the prescribed fee and consider issuing roll numbers on the condition that their result would be issued only after the balance fee has been deposited. Boards and Universities which have their websites should also contain this information and encourage the candidates to check the fee from the website. In some cases the possibility of informing the complainant to deposit the fee and come and receive the roll number personally may also be examined. Rationality behind this restriction is not clear. The Boards need to reconsider this matter.

ii) Criteria/standard for passing an examination should be determined and notified/circulated at the time of admission of students of each academic session. There have been instances where the criteria/standard was changed by the Boards at a later stage which resulted in litigation and inconvenience to the students.

24. WASA

WASA being a public service Agency, dealing with an extremely sensitive

commodity, customers’ satisfaction should be its top priority. The complaints received

indicate that it has a long way to go before it can claim to have a satisfied clientele. It is

recommended that:

i) As recommended earlier, it should revitalize its own complaints handling system. Complaints about inflated/incorrect bills, delay in addressing complaints of open manholes, blocked sewerage, supply of contaminated water etc. must be received and addressed promptly at the local level. Time limit for disposal of complaints of each category should be laid down and the Managing Director should ensure that this is being followed. The complaint

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centers must maintain proper record to indicate that the complaints have been attended to within time limit fixed for this purpose.

ii) The pace of providing meters to un-metered water connections is far from satisfactory. With the installation of meters, the complaints about inflated bills are likely to come down. Even otherwise, it is desirable that the consumers pay for the quantity of water actually used by them.

iii) As was recommended earlier also, the Agency should devise a uniform basis for billing of non metered connections. The present system of basing bills on Annual Rental Value or area leads to misunderstanding and complaints.

iv) The present practice of detecting an illegal connection and starting the billing process also needs to be standardized and improved. The procedure should be notified in the form of Standing Operating Procedure. A proper notice should follow detection of an illegal connection and the consumer concerned be informed about the fact of detection, the penalty which he would have to pay and the date from and rate at which he would be billed for the supply of water.

v) Huge arrears are allowed to accumulate in a large number of cases which is possible only either with the connivance or extreme neglect of the staff concerned. It is once again recommended that in case the arrears remain un-recovered, these should be recovered from the staff responsible for failure to take timely action.

vi) Under the existing policy, the outstanding amount in respect of water/sewerage connection of property purchased by someone is claimed from the new owner/purchaser. This fact should be properly publicized to inform the purchaser to get a certificate from WASA that there are no outstanding dues in respect of water/sewerage charges in respect of the house/ property he wants to purchase. This fact should also be displayed in the offices of Sub Registrars of the city.

25. ZAKAT AND USHR

i) A number of complaints were received regarding non observance of the rules and the procedure in the election of local zakat committees. Apart from properly briefing constituted election teams, departmental officials should also carry out visits and checks to see that election of Local Zakat Committees are held strictly in accordance with the rules and the procedure. District Zakat Committees should be advised to expeditiously decide the appeals filed before these committees.

ii) Some complaints about delay in payment of scholarships and subsistence grant continue to be received. It is stressed once again that a system of release of money to the Local Zakat Committees be streamlined so that the assistance reaches the recipient in time.

CHAPTER-IV

IMPLEMENTATION

Pages 41 – 43

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IMPLEMENTATION

The purpose of Ombudsman’s Office is redressal of grievances in real terms

rather than mere disposal of complaints. Implementation of recommendations/directions

communicated by this Office is the responsibility of relevant agency and its concerned

officer. Once right of representation has been exhausted, recommendations/directions attain

finality and the Act does not provide any other recourse, except to implement these.

Although response of the agencies in general remained encouraging, yet there is room for

accelerating implementation of recommendations/directions.

During the year 2004, paradigm shift in complaint handling was made by

keeping these in process/in ‘Peshi’ till the recommendations made are implemented by the

concerned Agency. Out of 1,621 directions which required implementation by the

concerned officers of the relevant agencies, 1,022 were got implemented and 599 were still

pending, inviting concern of the aggrieved persons whose complaints had been decided, but

actual redressal of grievances was awaited from the agencies. It has been found that some

of the departments take more time than that can be considered just and fair to implement

recommendations. Recommendations in 77 complaints were sent to different

departments/agencies six months or more back, but implementation was awaited till

31.12.2005. These and some other delayed cases have been brought to the personal notice

of Administrative Secretaries concerned and, in selected cases, meetings were also held

with them to expedite implementation. This Office has been assured that all possible

measures would be taken to implement the directions without further delay.

It is pointed out that under subsection (4) of section 3 of the Act ibid it is

mandatory for all the executive authorities in the province to act in aid of the Ombudsman.

Section 11(2) of the Act requires the agencies to whom directions have been issued to

inform the Ombudsman about the action taken by them within time specified by him or the

reasons for not complying with the same. Sections 12, 13 and 14(5) empower the

Ombudsman to take any one or more actions against any employee of an agency who does

not implement or defies recommendations or his directions. During the year, section 12 had

to be invoked in two specific cases whereafter implementation of the recommendations was

achieved.

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APPOINTMENT OF PRINCIPAL OFFICERS

Subsection (4) of section 10 of the Punjab Office of the Ombudsman Act,

1997, envisages that there shall be a Principal Officer for each of the department or its

agency who shall liaise with this Institution ensuring speedy response from the

department/agency enabling the Office to redress grievances as quickly as possible. The

matter was taken up with the Government. The S&GAD (Cabinet Wing) vide their letter No.

SO.CAB-I/2-1/97 (Part-II) dated 19.9.2005, conveyed directions of the Chief Secretary to all

Administrative Secretaries of Govt. of the Punjab to nominate Principal Officers not below

the rank of Additional Secretary /Deputy Secretary for:

a) Secretariat Departments; b) Attached Departments; c) Autonomous Bodies; d) Other Institutions established or controlled by the Administrative

Departments, Government of the Punjab.

By 31.12.2005, 18 departments and 9 agencies had nominated their Principal Officers.

Remaining departments and agencies were being pursued through reminders to expedite

nomination and designation of their Principal Officers to keep liaison with this Office.

IMPLEMENTATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS 2004

Annual Report 2004 of this Office was presented to the Governor on

March 30, 2005 as required u/s 28 of the Act. Principal Secretary to the Governor

conveyed to Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Punjab that Ombudsman’s

recommendations contained in Chapter III of the Report were useful entailing

improvement of efficiency and ensuring good governance in the departments. It was

requested to give due consideration and implement Ombudsman’s recommendations.

The Chief Minister’s instruction that Ombudsman’s recommendations

contained in Chapter III of the Report be examined, necessary action taken and report be

furnished on top priority, was communicated by the Cabinet Wing of S&GAD vide their

letter SO.CAB-I/10-3/2005 dated 17.10.2005, to all the Administrative Secretaries of Govt.

of the Punjab. By December 31, 2005, two departments had informed about implementation

of recommendations both General and Specific, three about General recommendations and

eleven about Department Specific recommendations only. This headway has been made for

43

the first time in the history of this Office and the matter is being pursued with the

departments which could not submit their reports by 31.12.2005.

It is considered appropriate to reiterate that redressal of grievances caused by

maladministration of departments, agencies or their officers, is a tripartite arrangement with

final action to be taken by the department/agency. Our recommendations are a precursor for

taking identified action which, we expect, would improve governance in the departments

resulting in decreasing incidents of maladministration. It is expected that initiatives taken and

improvements noticed would be nurtured and strengthened with the passage of time in the

true spirit envisaged in the law under which the Office has been set up.

CHAPTER-V

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

Pages

1. Year Wise Receipt and Disposal of Complaints (30.9.1996 to 31.12.2005) 44 - 45

2. Department / Agency Wise Breakup of Complaints Received 46 - 47

3. District Wise Breakup of Complaints Received 48 - 49

4. Non-maintainable Complaints 50 - 51

5. Nature of Maladministration Reflected in Maintainable Complaints 52 - 53

6. Complaints Pertaining to Maladministration in Service Matters 54 - 55

7. Disposal of Complaints 56 - 57

8. Breakup of Complaints Decided After Investigation 58 - 59

9. Month-wise Receipt & Disposal of Complaints 60 - 61

10. Department / Agency-wise Representations Decided by the Governor 62 - 63

11. Month-wise Receipt & Disposal of Implementation Petitions 64 - 65

44

1996-97 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Brought Forward - 10,049 6,018 4,001 5,465 5,651 3,800 3,683 4,733

Receipt 17,801 11,501 11,696 8,909 8,385 8,586 9,392 8,434 8,503

Total Processed 17,801 21,550 17,714 12,910 13,850 14,237 13,192 12,117 13,236

Disposal 7,752 15,532 13,713 7,445 8,199 10,437 9,509 7,384 10,796

Carried Forward 10,049 6,018 4,001 5,465 5,651 3,800 3,683 4,733 2,440

Total Number of Complaints Received: 93,207

Total Number of Complaints Disposed of: 90,767

Carried Forward: 2,440

YEAR WISE

( 30.9.1996 TO 31.12. 2005)

TABLE-I

RECEIPT AND DISPOSAL OF COMPLAINTS

45

1996-97 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 20050

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

16000

18000

Brought Forward Receipt Disposal Carried Forward

YEARS

YEAR WISE RECEIPT AND DISPOSAL OF COMPLAINTS

(30.9.1996 TO 31.12.2005)

NUMBER

OF COMPLAINTS

46

SR.NO DEPARTMENT / AGENCY COMPLAINTS %AGE1 Police 1261 17.162 Education 1160 15.793 Revenue Administration 837 11.394 Local Govt. & Rural Development 579 7.885 Health 443 6.036 Irrigation & Power 430 5.857 District Governments 226 3.088 Benevolent Fund Boards 213 2.909 Boards of Intermediate & Secondary Education 197 2.68

10 Water & Sanitation Agencies 186 2.5311 Accountant General Punjab 174 2.3712 Universities 134 1.8213 Excise & Taxation 133 1.8114 Agriculture 129 1.7615 Communication & Works 125 1.7016 Zakat & Ushr 125 1.7017 Forestry, Wildlife & Fisheries 116 1.5818 Bait-ul-Maal 109 1.4819 Development Authorities 87 1.1820 Housing, Urban Development & Public Health Engineering 79 1.0821 Home/Jails 66 0.9022 TEVTA 56 0.7623 Anti Corruption Establishment 55 0.7524 Cooperatives 52 0.7125 Food 49 0.6726 Labour & Human Resource 47 0.6427 Auqaf, Religious and Minority Affairs 38 0.5228 Population Welfare 28 0.3829 Transport 28 0.3830 Livestock & Dairy Development 27 0.3731 Industries 26 0.3532 PESSI 23 0.3133 Services & General Administration 16 0.2234 Punjab Public Service Commission 15 0.2035 Mines & Minerals 12 0.1636 Bank of Punjab 12 0.1637 Social Welfare & Women Development 12 0.1238 Finance 9 0.1239 Information, Culture & Youth Affairs 7 0.1040 Environment Protection 6 0.0841 Law & Parliamentary Affairs 5 0.0742 Board of Technical Education 4 0.0543 Planning & Development 3 0.0444 Printing Press 3 0.0445 Information Technology 2 0.0346 Punjab Small Industries Corporation 2 0.0347 Punjab Text Book Board 1 0.01

TOTAL 7,347 1001,1568,503Grand Total

DEPARTMENT/AGENCY WISE

2005

TABLE-IIBREAKUP OF COMPLAINTS RECEIVED

Federal/ Private matters/ Where departments were not mentioned

47

Polic

eEd

ucat

ion

Rev

enue

Adm

inis

tratio

nLo

cal G

ovt.

& R

ural

Dev

elop

men

tH

ealth

Irrig

atio

n &

Pow

erD

istri

ct G

over

nmen

tsB

enev

olen

t Fun

d B

oard

sB

oard

s of I

nter

med

iate

& S

econ

dary

Edu

catio

nW

ater

& S

anita

tion

Age

ncie

sA

ccou

ntan

t Gen

eral

Pun

jab

Uni

vers

ities

Exci

se &

Tax

atio

nA

gric

ultu

reC

omm

unic

atio

n &

Wor

ksZa

kat &

Ush

r

Fore

stry

, Wild

life

& F

ishe

ries

Bai

t-ul-M

aal

Dev

elop

men

t Aut

horit

ies

Hou

sing

, Urb

an D

evel

opm

ent &

Pub

lic H

ealth

Eng

inee

ring

Hom

e/Ja

ilsTE

VTA

Ant

i Cor

rupt

ion

Esta

blis

hmen

tC

oope

rativ

esFo

odLa

bour

& H

uman

Res

ourc

eA

uqaf

, Rel

igio

us a

nd M

inor

ity A

ffai

rsPo

pula

tion

Wel

fare

Tran

spor

tLi

vest

ock

& D

airy

Dev

elop

men

tIn

dust

ries

PESS

ISe

rvic

es &

Gen

eral

Adm

inis

tratio

nPu

njab

Pub

lic S

ervi

ce C

omm

issi

onM

ines

& M

iner

als

Ban

k of

Pun

jab

Soci

al W

elfa

re &

Wom

en D

evel

opm

ent

Fina

nce

Info

rmat

ion,

Cul

ture

& Y

outh

Aff

airs

Envi

ronm

ent P

rote

ctio

nLa

w &

Par

liam

enta

ry A

ffai

rsB

oard

of T

echn

ical

Edu

catio

nPl

anni

ng &

Dev

elop

men

tPr

intin

g Pr

ess

Info

rmat

ion

Tech

nolo

gyPu

njab

Sm

all I

ndus

tries

Cor

pora

tion

Punj

ab T

ext B

ook

Boa

rd

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

DEPARTMENTS/AGENCIES

DEPARTMENT/AGENCY WISE BREAKUP OFCOMPLAINTS RECEIVED

2005

NUMBER

OF COMPLAINTS

48

SR.NO DISTRICT COMPLAINTS %AGE1 Lahore 1007 12.032 Faisalabad 502 6.003 RahimYar Khan 428 5.114 Bahawalnagar 394 4.715 Multan 384 4.596 Sargodha 343 4.107 Bahawalpur 331 3.958 Jhang 325 3.889 Sheikhupura 305 3.64

10 Gujranwala 292 3.4911 Khanewal 280 3.3412 Kasur 249 2.9713 Okara 236 2.8214 Toba Tek Singh 221 2.6415 Sahiwal 214 2.5616 Muzaffargarh 213 2.5417 Vehari 213 2.5418 Mianwali 210 2.5119 Sialkot 207 2.4720 Khushab 204 2.4421 Dera Ghazi Khan 200 2.3922 Pakpattan 192 2.2923 Rawalpindi 173 2.0724 Bhakkar 164 1.9625 Mandi Baha-ud-Din 140 1.6726 Gujrat 140 1.6727 Rajanpur 131 1.5628 Narowal 116 1.3929 Hafizabad 111 1.3330 Layyah 91 1.0931 Jhelum 74 0.8832 Chakwal 72 0.8633 Attock 67 0.8034 Lodhran 53 0.6335 Nankana Sahib 43 0.5136 From Other Provinces 40 0.4837 From Abroad 8 0.10

TOTAL 8,373 100Anonymous 130

8,503Grand Total

TABLE-III

2005DISTRICT WISE BREAKUP OF COMPLAINTS RECEIVED

49

Lah

ore

Fais

alab

ad

Rah

imY

ar K

han

Bah

awal

naga

rM

ulta

n Sa

rgod

ha

Bah

awal

pur

Jhan

gSh

eikh

upur

a G

ujra

nwal

aK

hane

wal

Kas

urO

kara

Tob

a T

ek S

ingh

Sahi

wal

Muz

affa

rgar

hV

ehar

iM

ianw

ali

Sial

kot

Khu

shab

Der

a G

hazi

Kha

n Pa

kpat

tan

Raw

alpi

ndi

Bha

kkar

Man

di B

aha-

ud-D

inG

ujra

t R

ajan

pur

Nar

owal

Haf

izab

adL

ayya

hJh

elum

Cha

kwal

Att

ock

Lod

hran

Nan

kana

Sah

ibFr

om O

ther

Pro

vinc

esFr

om A

broa

d

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

DISTRICTS

NUMBER

OF COMPLAINTS

DISTRICT WISE BREAKUP OF COMPLAINTS RECEIVED

2005

50

CATEGORY COMPLAINTS %AGE

Incomplete 1,339 39

Service matters 659 19

Concerning Federal Agencies 583 17

Private matters 432 13

Subjudice 197 6

Anonymous 130 4

Press clippings 50 . 1.46

Time barred 28 . 0.82

Concerning Other Provinces 4 . 0.12

TOTAL 3,422 . 100

TABLE-IV

NON-MAINTAINABLE COMPLAINTS2005

51

NON-MAINTAINABLE COMPLAINTS2005

Incomplete39%

Concerning Other Provinces

0.12%

Time barred0.82%

Press clippings1.46%

Anonymous4%

Subjudice6%

Private matters13%

Service matters19%

Concerning Federal Agencies

17%

TOTAL: 3,422

52

SR. NO.

NATURE OF MALADMINISTRATION (ALLEGED) COMPLAINTS %AGE

1Administrative excesses, discrimination, favouritism, arbitrary, unjust and biased decisions.

2,197 43

2 Inattention, delay, neglect, inefficiency and ineptitude. 1,893 37

3 Corrupt practices. 991 20

TOTAL 5,081 100

Total Maintainable Complaints Received 5,081

Total Non-Maintainable Complaints Received 3,422

Total Complaints Received 8,503

TABLE-V

NATURE OF MALADMINISTRATIONREFLECTED IN MAINTAINABLE COMPLAINTS

2005

53

1,893991

2,197

TOTAL: 5,081

43%Administrative excesses, discrimination, favouritism, arbitrary, unjust and biased decisions.

20%Corrupt practices.

37%Inattention, delay neglect, inefficiency and ineptitude.

NATURE OF MALADMINISTRATION REFLECTED IN MAINTAINABLE COMPLAINTS

2005

54

SR. NO. DESCRIPTION COMPLAINTS

1 Pensionary and Other Retirement Benefits 247

2 Benevolent Fund 230

3 Release/Fixation of Pay 171

4 Appointment Under Rule 17(A) 129

5 Selection Grade/Promotion/Move Over 125

6 Misconduct 114

7 G. P. Fund 99

8 Reimbursment of Medical Charges 90

9 Family Pension 84

10 Finalization of Pending Chronic Enquiries 82

11 Grant of Increments 71

12 Completion of Service Book/Service Record 42

13 Reinstatement in Service 36

14 Appointment Against Quota for the Children of Non-gazetted Employees (BS-1 to 5) 32

15 Payment of Travelling Allowance 27

16 Appointment Against Quota for the Disabled 23

17 Payment of Grant on Marriage or Death 17

18 Issuance of LPC 7

19 Cancellation of Transfer Orders 5

20 Transfer of PPO 4

21 Seniority Disputes 3

22 Annual Confidential Reports 2

TOTAL 1,640

TABLE-VI

MALADMINISTRATION IN SERVICE MATTERSCOMPLAINTS PERTAINING TO

2005

55

23457

17

2327323642

71

828490

114

99

125129

171

230

247

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

Pens

iona

ry a

nd O

ther

Ret

irem

ent B

enef

itsBe

nevo

lent

Fun

dRe

leas

e/Fi

xatio

n of

Pay

App

oint

men

t Und

er R

ule

17(A

)

Sele

ctio

n G

rade

/Pro

mot

ion/

Mov

e O

ver

Misc

ondu

ctG

. P. F

und

Reim

burs

men

t of M

edic

al C

harg

esFa

mily

Pen

sion

Fina

lizat

ion

of P

endi

ng C

hron

ic E

nqui

ries

Gra

nt o

f Inc

rem

ents

Com

plet

ion

of S

ervi

ce B

ook/

Serv

ice

Reco

rdRe

insta

tem

ent i

n Se

rvic

e

App

oint

men

t Aga

inst

Quo

ta fo

r the

Chi

ldre

n of

Non

-gaz

ette

d Em

ploy

ees

Paym

ent o

f Tra

velli

ng A

llow

ance

App

oint

men

t Aga

inst

Quo

ta fo

r the

Disa

bled

Paym

ent o

f Gra

nt o

n M

arria

ge o

r Dea

thIs

suan

ce o

f LPC

Canc

ella

tion

of T

rans

fer O

rder

sTr

ansf

er o

f PPO

Seni

ority

Disp

utes

Ann

ual C

onfid

entia

l Rep

orts

COMPLAINTS PERTAINING TOMALADMINISTRATION IN SERVICE MATTERS

2005

NUMBER

OF COMPLAINTS

56

DESCRIPTION COMPLAINTS %AGE

Disposed of in Limine 3,422 32

Disposed of after Investigation 7,374 68

TOTAL 10,796 100

Complaints brought forward 4,733

Complaints received 8,503

Total complaints processed 13,236

Total disposal of complaints 10,796

Carried Forward 2,440

DISPOSAL OF COMPLAINTS

TABLE-VII

2005

57

DISPOSAL OF COMPLAINTS2005

Disposed of in Limine32%

Disposed of after Investigation

68%

7,3743,422

TOTAL: 10,796

58

DESCRIPTION COMPLAINTS %AGE

No. of complaints wherein the grievance redressed 3,152 40

No. of complaints wherein views of the Agencies were upheld 4,222 53

No. of complaints wherein grievance recommended for redressal but direction awaiting implementation 599 7

TOTAL 7,973 100

BREAKUP OF COMPLAINTS DECIDED

TABLE-VIII

2005AFTER INVESTIGATION

59

40%Complaints wherein the grievance redressed

3,152 4,222TOTAL: 7,973

53%Complaints wherein views of the Agencies were upheld

BREAKUP OF COMPLAINTS DECIDEDAFTER INVESTIGATION

2005

599

7%Complaints wherein grievance recommended for redressal but direction awaiting implementation

60

MONTH RECEIPT DISPOSAL

JANUARY 549 253

FEBRUARY 611 1,329

MARCH 733 1,153

APRIL 746 978

MAY 847 1,210

JUNE 809 907

JULY 825 911

AUGUST 696 924

SEPTEMBER 686 867

OCTOBER 708 712

NOVEMBER 644 651

DECEMBER 649 901

TOTAL 8,503 10,796

Complaints Brought Forward 4,733

Complaints Received 8,503

Total Complaints Processed 13,236

Complaints Disposed of 10,796

Complaints Carried Forward 2,440

TABLE-IX

RECEIPT & DISPOSAL OF COMPLAINTS 2005

MONTH-WISE

61

1,329

978

611

746

847809 825

696 686708

644 649

733

549

651

901

712

253

1,153

867

1,210

907 911 924

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

JANUARY

FEBRUARY

MARCHAPRIL

MAYJU

NEJU

LY

AUGUST

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER

DECEMBER

MONTHS

RECEIPT DISPOSAL

MONTH-WISE RECEIPT & DISPOSAL OF COMPLAINTS

2005

NUMBER

OF COMPLAINTS

62

SR. NO. DEPARTMENT/AGENCY REPRESENTATIONS REJECTED ACCEPTED AMENDED

1 Education 16 14 1 12 LG & RD 13 11 2 -3 Punjab Text Book Board 2 1 1 -4 Board of Revenue 11 8 2 15 HUD & PHE 7 4 3 -6 Lahore Development Authority 5 2 3 -7 Health 5 4 - 18 WASA, Lahore 5 4 - 19 D.C.O., Faisalabad. 3 3 - -

10 Irrigation & Power 3 1 2 -11 Benevolent Fund 3 2 1 -12 Communication and Works 3 3 - -13 Punjab University 3 3 - -14 Faisalabad Development Authority 2 2 - -15 Home/Prisons 2 2 - -16 Punjab Employees Social Security Institution 2 2 - -17 D.C.O., Narowal 2 2 - -18 Accountant General Punjab 2 2 - -19 Police 2 2 - -20 Agriculture 2 2 - -21 The Punjab Provincial Cooperative Bank Ltd 2 2 - -22 TEVTA 2 2 - -23 Gujranwala Development Authority 1 1 - -24 Excise & Taxation 1 - 1 -25 Punjab Small Industries Corporation 1 1 - -26 BISE, Multan 1 1 - -27 Zakat & Ushr 1 - 1 -28 DCO, Gujranwala 1 - 1 -29 Chairman, Murree Improvement Trust 1 - 1 -30 D.C.O., Sialkot 1 - - 131 Punjab Cooperative Board for Liquidation 1 1 - -32 D.C.O., Jhang 1 1 - -33 S&GAD 1 - 1 -34 D.C.O., Kasur 1 1 - -35 Labour & Human Resource 1 1 - -36 D.C.O., Multan 1 1 - -37 WASA, Multan 1 1 - -

TOTAL 112 87 20 5

2005

TABLE-XDEPARTMENT/AGENCY-WISE REPRESENTATIONS

DECIDED BY THE GOVERNOR

63

87REJECTED20

ACCEPTED

5AMENDED

TOTAL : 112

DEPARTMENT/AGENCY-WISE REPRESENTATIONS DECIDED BY THE GOVERNOR

2005

64

MONTH RECEIPT DISPOSAL

JANUARY 4 2

FEBRUARY 16 57

MARCH 21 15

APRIL 7 25

MAY 9 28

JUNE 5 41

JULY 13 21

AUGUST 6 36

SEPTEMBER 12 22

OCTOBER 5 20

NOVEMBER 12 5

DECEMBER 14 15

TOTAL 124 287

Brought Forward 349Received 124Total Processed 473Disposed of 287

Carried Forward 186

TABLE-XI

IMPLEMENTATION PETITIONS 2005

MONTH-WISE RECEIPT AND DISPOSAL OF

65

MONTH-WISE RECEIPT AND DISPOSAL OFIMPLEMENTATION PETITIONS

2005

57

25

1412

5

12

6

13

5

97

21

16

4

15

5

2022

36

21

41

28

2

15

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

JANUARY

FEBRUARY

MARCH

APRILM

AYJU

NEJU

LY

AUGUST

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER

DECEMBER

MONTHS

RECEIPT DISPOSAL

NUMBER

OF COMPLAINTS

CHAPTER-VI

PRESS REPORTS

Pages 66 – 107

66

67

68

69

70

71

72

73

74

75

76

77

78

79

80

81

82

83

84

85

86

87

88

89

90

91

92

93

94

95

96

97

98

99

100

101

102

103

104

105

106

107

CHAPTER-VII

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS / COMMENTS

Pages 108– 119

108

109

110

111

112

113

114

115

116

117

118

119

CHAPTER-VIII

COMMENTS OF THE COMPLAINANTS

Pages 120– 136

120

121

122

123

124

125

126

127

128

129

130

131

132

133

134

135

136

CHAPTER-IX REPRESENTATIVE CASES

DEPARTMENT / AGENCY Pages 1 Accountant General Punjab 137 2 Agriculture 137 3 Bait-ul-Mal 138 4 Bank of Punjab 138 5 Benevolent Fund Boards 139 6 Boards of Intermediate & Secondary Education 140 7 Communication & Works 141 8 Cooperatives 142 9 District Accounts Offices 143

10 District Governments 143 11 Education 148 12 Excise & Taxation 156 13 Food 159 14 Forestry, Wildlife & Fisheries 160 15 Health 161 16 HUD & PHE 164 17 Irrigation & Power 164 18 Labour & Human Resource 171 19 LDA 172 20 LG & RD 173 21 Police 174 22 Population Welfare 187 23 Regional Transport Authority 187 24 Revenue 188 25 Special Education 194 26 University of Education 195 27 University of Engineering & Technology Taxila 196 28 University of Sargodha 197 29 WASA Lahore 198

137

ACCOUNTANT GENERAL, PUNJAB

Subject: ISSUANCE OF FAMILY PPO

Complaint No. 6504/04-473/04(C-I)

Mst. Iqbal Begum complained on

29.9.2004 that her husband who was an

employee of the Sindh Govt., died three

years back. During his life time, he used to

get his pension through District Accounts

Office Rawalpindi. After his death she

applied to DAO Rawalpindi, for issuance

of family PPO but it had not been issued.

She requested that she may be issued

family PPO at the earliest.

The matter was taken up with DAO,

Rawalpindi who reported on 19.3.2005

that on his reference, Accountant

General, Punjab had requested

Accountant General, Sindh, Karachi for

issuance of family PPO in the name of the

complainant. DAO, Rawalpindi finally

reported that Accountant General, Sindh

Karachi had issued PPO NO. 25630/Sindh in

favour of the widow and forwarded it to

DAO, Rawalpindi for payment. Thus, the

grievance was redressed.

The complainant acknowledged

receipt of family PPO from DAO,

Rawalpindi vide her letter of thanks.

AGRICULTURE

Subject: PAYMENT OF COMMUTATION

Complaint No. 820/2/05 C III 03/05

Muhammad Nazeer, a retired Sub

Inspector of Market Committee,

complained on 26.2.05, that Chairman

Market Committee Naushehra Virkan had

refused payment of commutation to him

because of political rivalry, inspite of

order No. (E&M) dated 11.03.02 passed

by the Director Agriculture.

On persuasion by this office,

Secretary Market Committee Naushehra

Virkan reported on 26.7.05, that an

amount of Rs.295,749.60 as commutation

was paid to the complainant through

his account in the Post Office.

With the intervention of this

Office, long outstanding grievance of the

complainant on account of non payment of

commutation was, thus, got redressed.

138

BAIT-UL-MAL

Subject: FINANCIAL GRANT FROM BAIT-UL-MAAL

Complaint No. C-663/2/05-C-I-43/05

Resham Jan complained on

16.2.2005 that her husband died 30 years

back. She applied to District Bait-ul-Maal

Committee, Attock on 12.3.2003, for

grant of financial aid but it was not paid,

despite her repeated visits to District Bait-

ul-Maal office, Attock. She requested that

her application be processed and she be

paid the grant immediately.

The matter was taken up with the

Secretary, District Bait-ul-Maal

Committee, Attock who reported on

21.4.2005, that the complainant was paid

Rs.3000/- through cheque

No.14999060 dated 18.4.2005 as

financial grant from Bait-ul-Maal. The

complainant’s grievance was redressed.

BANK OF PUNJAB

Subject: CANCELLATION OF LOAN

Complaint No. 5146/7/04/C-I-371/04

Imam Bakhsh complained on

17.7.2004 stating that he applied to

the Bank of Punjab, through its

Mianwali Branch on 4.3.2004, for

agricultural loan for installation of a

tubewell. He deposited Rs.60,000/-in cash

and submitted pass book No.876558 worth

Rs.3,65,000/- in respect of land measuring

166 kanal and 7 marla. The bank

sanctioned loan of Rs.1,50,000/- as

against Rs,2,40,000/- requested by him,

which was insufficient to meet his

requirement. His pass book and

Rs.60,000/- deposited by him in cash were

retained by the bank without justification.

He requested that he should be paid

damages for retaining the pass book and

Rs.60,000/-.

The matter was taken up with

General Manager, Operations Division,

Bank of Punjab, Lahore. He reported on

24.8.2005, that the complainant applied

for a loan of Rs.2,40,000/-, but an

amount of Rs.1,50,000/- was sanctioned

according to the rules/policy. The

Branch Manager requested the Head

Office for enhancement of the facility

from Rs.1,50,000/- to Rs.2,40,000/-, but

it was not accepted and loan of

Rs.1,50,000/- already sanctioned in the

complainant’s favour was

withdrawn/cancelled due to his

misbehavior.

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The complainant disagreed with the

report of the Bank and submitted that he never

misbehaved with any of the officers of the

bank. He requested that he should be paid

damages for retention of his pass book and

Rs.60,000/- by the bank without justification.

Mr. Muhammad Javed Muzaffar,

SVP/Head ACD and the complainant were

heard at length. No justification was found

either for cancellation of loan of Rs.1,50,000/-

already sanctioned in the complainant’s favour

or reduction of loan amount from

Rs.2,40,000/- to Rs.1,50,000/- without even a

show cause notice.

The bank was directed to return the

pass book to the complainant immediately

and pay interest to the complainant on

Rs.60,000/- on the basis of PLS Account for

the period the amount remained in the

account.

The bank complied with the

directions of the Ombudsman in totality.

The grievance of the complainant was got

redressed.

BENEVOLENT FUND BOARDS

Subject: PAYMENT OF MARRIAGE GRANT

Complaint No. 8045/04-Adv-II-27/05

Ghulam Fatima submitted a

complaint alleging that her husband

Roshan Din, an employee of Irrigation

Department, Gogera Division Faisalabad,

died on 10.4.1988 while in service. She

applied for grant out of benevolent fund for

marriage of her two daughters. No action

was taken on her application by DCO

Faisalabad for two years. She requested that

the DCO be directed to release marriage

grant in her favour.

Secretary District Benevolent Fund,

Faisalabad in his report admitted having

received complainant’s application but

expressed his inability to make payment

for the reason that a fraud in benevolent fund

account had been committed and the matter

was pending enquiry in the Anti Corruption

Establishment.

The Agency was directed on

2.2.2005 to release the marriage grant

within a month and initiate disciplinary

action against those officials who

caused delay in the disposal of

complainant’s application as

commission of fraud in the funds should

have no effect on the complainant’s

claim.

Complying with the direction,

the agency paid marriage grant to the

complainant and informed this office

vide report dated 3.3.2005.

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Subject: GRANT OF SCHOLARSHIP OUT OF BENEVOLENT FUND

Complaint No. M/396/05 C-III/45/05

Mst. Munawar Sultana, widow of

Dr. Hashmat Ali (late) a B.S.19

employee complained on 03.03.05, that

applications for grant of scholarships

from benevolent fund for academic

sessions 2002-03 and 2003-04, to her

three children were submitted to the

Secretary B.F. Board. Scholarship in

favour of her daughter had been

sanctioned but applications of the

remaining two children were still

pending sanction. She requested for

grant of scholarship to her two sons.

Administrative Officer,

Benevolent Fund Board reported on

30.03.05, that educational scholarships

in favour of complainant’s two children

for two sessions had been sanctioned and

amount disbursed through cheques. As

regards the third child, namely Muazzam

Ali Khan, his detailed marks obtained in

the previous class were not provided due

to which scholarship could not be

sanctioned.

The complainant argued that the

condition of providing detailed marks

was not applicable under the

instructions/rules in the case of children

of deceased officials or those retired due

to invalidation. The Agency was,

however, found justified to demand

certificate as a proof of having passed

the previous class. The result card

produced by the complainant revealed

that Muazzam Ali Khan had failed in the

examination 2003, therefore, under the

rules he was not eligible for grant of

scholarship.

The grievance of the complainant

to the extent of her two children was got

redressed and the third child was found

ineligible for grant of scholarship. The

complaint was disposed of accordingly

vide order dated 24.08.2005.

BOARDS OF INTERMEDIATE AND SECONDARY EDUCATION

Subject: ISSUANCE OF CERTIFICATE AND RESULT CARD

Complaint No. M/222/05.C-I

Qaisar Abbas of Daira Din Panah,

Tehsil Kot Addu, District Muzaffargarh

lodged a complaint on 10.2.2005 stating

that he was declared successful in

Diploma in Education examination

2001, as a regular student of

Government Elementary College, Kot

Addu and the result card was

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accordingly issued to him. He

submitted his admission form for

appearing in the B.A. examination. The

University demanded equivalence certificate

of Diploma in Education and the original

certificate, but he was conditionally allowed to

take the B.A. examination. He appeared in

the examination and passed the same but

the University withheld the result card.

He requested for a direction to B.I.S.E,

D.G.Khan to issue his Diploma

certificate so that requirement of the

University authorities was met for issuing

him the result card of B.A. examination.

The matter was taken up and

pursued with B.I.S.E, D.G.Khan and the

Bahauddin Zakria University, Multan.

During investigation, the result card of B.A.

examination was delivered to the

complainant by the representative of the

University; thereby redressing his

grievances.

COMMUNICATION & WORKS

Subject: CONSTRUCTION OF ROAD

Complaint No. 3988/5/04/C-I-198/05 Muhammad Yasin, General

Secretary, Transport Union, Sadiqabad

complained on 29.5.2004 stating that

XEN, Provincial Highways Division,

Bahawalpur had not completed the road

from Khanpur to Chanigoth. Crushed

stone laid was causing great inconvenience

to the travelling public and damage to

vehicles. No alternative arrangement was

made to facilitate the travelling public. He

requested that XEN, Provincial Highways

Division, Bahawalpur be directed to

complete the road without further delay.

The matter was taken up with XEN,

Provincial Highways Division, Bahawalpur,

who reported on 18.4.2005, that the

project would be completed upto

15.5.2005 and the road would be put

in proper condition. The complainant

in his rejoinder stated that

construction work of the road was not

completed by the contractor satisfactorily.

XEN, Provincial Highways

Division, Bahawalpur was directed vide

order dated 27.7.2005, to take immediate

steps within the available means to redress

the grievance and report by 17.8.2005.

XEN, Provincial Highways

Division, Bahawalpur implemented the

directions of the Ombudsman and

intimated vide report dated 06.8.2005

that the project had been completed and

wearing surface of the road was finished

with triple surface treatment. He added

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that no crushed stone was left uncovered

and in future provision for alternative

arrangement would be provided.

The commuters problems were

solved by getting the road completed which

had been earlier neglected.

Subject: PAYMENT OF ARREARS OF PAY

Complaint No.1962/04 D-II 80/3/04

Malik Yar Muhammad and

others, who performed duties as work

charged employees of the Highway

Department, Mianwali, stated in their

complaint that the department did not

pay their arrears on the plea that after

regularization of the service of work

charged employees w.e.f. 1972 they

were not entitled to arrears. They

referred to cases of their colleagues in

the department, as well as those in the

Irrigation Department, who had

received the arrears.

The case was taken up with DO

(Roads) as well as DAO, Mianwali. The

latter reported on 2.6.2004 that A.G.

Punjab had been requested for advice

about admissibility of pension to the

employees of C&W Department in the

wake of Finance Department’s

notification dated 21.11.2001. District

Accounts Officer finally intimated on

22.7.2004 that the A.G. Punjab had

confirmed admissibility of pension and had

also refixed pay of the complainants.

The complainants confirmed that they had

received their arrears including pension.

The complainants received their dues on the

intervention of this Office.

COOPERATIVES

Subject: PAYMENT OF MEDICAL BILLS

Complaint No. 622/04-Adv-II-53/04

Mr. Muhammad Akram, Junior

Clerk posted in the office of District

Officer (Cooperatives) R.Y.Khan

complained stating that he incurred an

expenditure of Rs.20,267.50 on medical

treatment of his son. He submitted medical

bill for reimbursement in 1996 and after

prolonged correspondence, he was informed

that Finance Deptt. had refused to allow

reimbursement of the medical bill.

Reports were obtained from the

Additional Secretary (Service

Regulations) of Finance Department and

Registrar Cooperative Societies Punjab, on

26.4.2005 & 12.2.2005 respectively. During

investigation, it was proved that

complainant’s medical bill was genuine. A

143

direction was given on 20.4.2005 to the

Finance Department to approve medical

reimbursement claim.

The Finance Department, in

compliance with the direction sanctioned

reimbursement of the medical bill. On

the intervention of this office, the long

outstanding grievance of the

complainant was ultimately redressed.

DISTRICT ACCOUNTS OFFICES

Subject: RESTORATION OF COMMUTED PORTION OF PENSION

Complaint No. 5307/04-375/04(C-I) Mr. Abdur Rashid Mirza lodged

complaint that he retired on 10.12.1988, as

Principal, Government Technical Teachers

Training College, Faisalabad and was

issued PPO by DAO, Faisalabad. He

attained the age of 75 on 10.12.2003.

Restoration of the commuted portion of

pension became due to him on

11.12.2003, but it was not restored by

the Accountant General, Punjab/DAO,

Faisalabad.

The matter was taken up with

DAO, Faisalabad who reported that the

commuted portion of pension in the sum

of Rs.2187/57 had been restored w.e.f.

11.12.2003 and authority sent to

Treasury Officer, Lahore for payment to the

complainant.

Treasury Officer, Lahore also reported

that the authority had been forwarded to

Manager, National Bank of Pakistan, New

Garden Town Branch, Lahore for payment of

full pension to the complainant. The grievance

of the complainant was, thus, got redressed by

this office.

DISTRICT GOVERNMENTS

Subject. PAYMENT OF PENSION CONTRIBUTION

Complaint No. 2051/04-C-IV/375/04

Complainant Mst. Ashraf

Sultana S.V. Teacher (Retd.) stated in

her complaint dated 18.03.2004 that she

served in Lahore Metropolitan Corporation

(defunct) from 11/62 to 12/75 as teacher in

different schools, whereafter she joined

service in Municipal Committee (defunct)

Sahiwal and served there from 1/76 to

3/96. After retirement, Municipal

Committee (defunct) Sahiwal paid her

all the pensionary dues but M.C.L.

(defunct) did not pay its pension share.

She requested that Education Wing of

Lahore Metropolitan Corporation

(defunct) be directed to pay her the

144

pensionary emoluments for the period she

served in M.C.L.

The matter was taken up and

pursued with District Officers (Education)

City District Government, Lahore and

Sahiwal. DO(F&B),CDGL reported on

24.3.2005 that cheque dated 21.3.2005 for

Rs.3,541/- had been sent to T.M.O.

Sahiwal, on account of pension

contribution for the complainant who

served in MCL (defunct) from 1.12.62 to

30.12.75.

In view of the report of the District

Officer (Finance & Budget) City District

Government, Lahore, the complaint was

disposed of on 12.4.2005 having borne

fruit.

SUBJECT: LEVY OF TOLL TAX ON MOTOR CYCLE RIKSHAW

Complaint No. 804/2004 D-II 43/2004

Motor Cycle Rickshaw drivers of

Dijkot, District Faisalabad

complained that contractors were

illegally charging toll tax from the

rickshaw drivers although the rickshaws

were exempted from payment of toll tax.

They applied to the District Nazim and the

DCO who declared charging of toll tax by

the contractors as illegal. Inspite of this,

the contractors were charging the tax in

collusion with the concerned staff of

Excise & Taxation Department. They

requested that the concerned authorities

may be directed to stop recovering tax

illegally from them.

Deputy District Office, Excise &

Taxation, Faisalabad reported on

12.03.2005, that according to notification

of the District Government, motorcycle

rickshaws were exempted from payment of

toll tax. Although the Excise and Taxation

Department intimated that the matter had

been resolved between the contractor and

the complainants, yet it was

apprehended that the complainants might

continue to be harassed by the contractors.

EDO (Revenue), D.O. Excise &

Taxation and Deputy District Officer,

Excise and Taxation, Faisalabad, were

therefore, directed on 16.3.2005 to

carryout checking of the toll tax posts to

ensure that the contractors did not charge

any toll tax illegally from those who were

not liable to pay. It was directed that, if

illegal charging of toll tax came to notice,

strict action should be taken against the

contractors.

The District Excise & Taxation

Officer submitted on 04.04.2005, that

implementation of the orders had been

made and there were no complaints from

the rickshaw drivers.

145

Subject: CORRECTION OF RECORD

Complaint No. 48/04 D-IV-6/04

Mr. Faryad Hussain submitted a

complaint stating .that he applied for

recording death of Sabiran Bibi, daughter

of Talib Hussain, but staff of Union

Council, Goindke, District Sialkot

recorded it as Sughran Bibi. When he

applied for correction of the name, Mr.

Jalil Bhatti, Inquiry Officer in the Office

of ADLG, Sialkot demanded Rs.1,000/- as

illegal gratification. He paid the money but

even then the needful was not done. The

complainant also requested the higher

authorities for correction of record but to no

avail. The complainant requested that the

matter be looked into and his grievance got

redressed.

ADLG/Office Incharge, Special Cell,

Sialkot reported on 28.2.2005, that

EDO(Health), Sialkot after conducting

an enquiry through DDO(Revenue),

Daska, District Sialkot has got the

requested correction effected in the

record of the concerned Union

Council. The charge of corruption

however, could not be substantiated.

The grievance of the complainant

having been redressed, the complaint was

disposed of as fructified.

Subject: CLEANLINESS

Complaint No. 5160/04 D-IV-333/04

In his complaint dated 17.7.04,

Waheed Ahmed Butt, a resident of Pir

Wadhai Road, Rawalpindi stated that

there was no proper arrangement of

sanitation in his street. He alleged that

Sanitary Inspector & Sanitary Supervisor

not only got bribe from the Sweepers but

also collected Rs.20/- from each house

for sanitation work. The complainant

requested that the matter be looked into

and action be taken against both the

officials.

The matter was taken up with the

Agency. TMO, TMA, Rawalpindi

reported on 12.03.2005 that a female

sweeper deputed in the area was

performing her duty properly and

allegation of the complainant about

receiving bribe from the residents of the

area was not correct.

The complainant appeared in this

Office on 16.3.2005 and intimated that

his grievance had been redressed as

sanitation work had been started in the

street. He also stated that his

misunderstanding about receiving bribe

by Zafar Bhatti, Sanitary Inspector and

Ishaq Masih, Sanitary Supervisor had

been clarified. The complaint was filed

accordingly.

146

Subject: REFUND OF FINE

Complaint No. 6190/9/04 D-IV 354/04

In his complaint dated 11.9.04,

Safdar Ali Ranjha, resident of house no.

18/A-4 Mian Meer village, Lahore,

stated that on 28.8.2004, he had parked

his vehicle No. LHM/3021 on the service

road adjacent to Lahore College for

Women, Lahore. The car lifter took away

his said vehicle, whereas ‘No Parking’

board had not been installed at the site.

Moreover, other vehicles parked there were

not lifted. The complainant requested that the

grievance be looked into and the amount

of fine recovered from him be got

refunded.

The matter was taken up with the

Agency. District Officer (Public

Facilities), CDG, Lahore reported on

28.02.05 that vehicle No. LHM/3021 was

lifted from the ‘No Parking’ area and was

released after payment of Rs.200/- as

composition fee. He also suggested that the

complainant may produce the original receipt

of payment of fine and the matter would be

dealt with in the light of rules. The District

Officer further stated that ‘No Parking’

boards had been installed in all sectors. The

complainant on the other hand took up the

plea that service road could not be declared

as ‘No Parking’ area. The Agency was,

therefore, directed to examine the case on this

count.

On 20.6.2005, the representative of

District Officer (Public Facilities), CDG,

Lahore attended final proceedings. He

produced a receipt dated 19.6.2005 and

stated that the composition fee of Rs.200/-

had been refunded to complainant Safdar

Ali Ranjha, through his son Taimur

Safdar.

The grievance of the complainant

was got redressed and the case was closed

as fructified.

Subject: USE OF DEFECTIVE MATERIAL IN CONSTRUCTION WORK

Complaint No. 4310/04 D-IV-278/04 In their complaint dated 11.6.04,

Subedar Ahmed Khan Awan, President, Awan

Welfare Society & residents of Halqa Chak

No. 71, Shumali UC No. 116, Sargodha,

alleged that Rana Arshad, contractor had

used substandard material in construction

of soling and drainage works in their

village. He requested that the matter be

enquired into and action taken against the

contractor.

The matter was taken up with the

Agency. Administration Officer, TMA,

Sargodha reported on 10.3.2005 that defects in

the construction work had been got rectified

at the site. The complainant in

confirmation filed an affidavit stating that

the defects in the construction work had

been removed by the contractor.

147

In view of the grievance of the

complainants having been redressed, the

complaint was disposed of as fructified.

Subject: LEAVE ENCASHMENT

Complaint No: 167/1/05 D-IV-12/05

Mst. Ayshan Bibi in her complaint

dated 12.3.05 stated that she had been

working as Sweepress in TMA, Kasur and

retired 6/7 years back on attaining the age

of superannuation. TMA, Kasur paid her

commutation and other pensionary dues

but leave encashment had not been paid to

her. She requested that the Agency may be

directed to pay her leave encashment dues.

Tehsil Officer (Finance) TMA,

Kasur, who was directed during

investigation, to look into the grievance of

the complainant, reported on 8.6.2005 that

a cheque in the amount of Rs.7,444/- on

account of leave encashment had been

delivered to Mst. Ayshan Bibi, the

complainant.

The grievance was, thus, got

redressed by this Office.

Subject: RESTORATION OF WATER SUPPLY CONNECTION

Complaint No. 1869/04 D-IV-132/04

In his complaint Muhammad

Sharif, resident of Farooq-e-Azam Road,

Near Crescent Public School, Tehsil &

District Hafizabad stated that his water

supply was disconnected during

construction of Farooq-e-Azam Road. He

spent an amount of Rs.1500/- on its repair

but TMA Hafizabad sent him a water

supply bill for the period of disconnection

of connection also. He was ready to pay

the bill after deducting the amount

pertaining to the disconnection period. The

complainant requested that TMA, Hafizabad

may be directed to restore his water supply

connection, waive the bill from January, 2002

to February, 2004 and also pay him an amount

of Rs.5,000/- as damages.

The matter was taken up with

TMO, TMA, Hafizabad. It was reported on

4.4.2005 that water charges bill was revised

whereafter, the complainant had deposited an

amount of Rs.1468/-as arrears and water

supply connection had been restored.

The grievance of the complainant was,

thus, got redressed.

Subject: PAYMENT OF MONTHLY GRANT TO THE WIDOW

Complaint No. 254/1/05/C.VI-28/2005

Mst. Fateh Khatoon averred in her

complaint dated 18-1-2005, that her

husband, Maulvi Ahmad Khan died on

20.7.1996. She was paid monthly grant for

the period 21.7.96 to 12.3.2001 by the

Benevolent Fund Board, Sargodha. After

148

the 1st June, 2001, District Government

stopped payment of the grant. She

requested that the grant for the remaining

period of 9 months and 12 days may be

paid to her.

D.C.O. Mianwali in his report

dated 13th July, 2005 submitted that the

complainant was paid monthly grant out of

Benevolent Fund for the period from

21.7.96 to 12.3.01 and her case was closed

by District Benevolent Fund Board,

Sargodha.

The contention of the complainant

on the other hand was that she was not

requesting for opening of her closed case

but payment for 9 months and 12 days

which was still due.

On a reference from this Office

National Bank of Pakistan, Sargodha and

National Bank, Mianwali, Musakhel

Branch certified that the amount paid to

the widow was Rs.46354/- only. D.C.O.

Sargodha, thereupon, clarified that as only

Rs.46354/- had been paid, the balance

amount i.e. Rs.9346/- was still payable to

her.

D.C.O. Mianwali was accordingly

directed to make payment of the arrears to

the complainant who informed on

28.10.05 that the complainant had been

paid the remaining amount of Rs.9346/-.

Grievance of the complainant was

redressed on the intervention of this

Office.

EDUCATION

Subject: POSTING ACCORDING TO MERIT AND POLICY

Complaint No. 3175/04 C-IV/136/04

Muhammad Asghar Khan,

complained that his wife Naureen Akhtar

submitted applications for a post of

Elementary School Educator in nine

different girls schools. She topped the

merit list in six schools, including

Government Girls School, Machiwala,

which was nearest to her home town.

Through the advertisement, it was

announced that the selected candidate

would be appointed in the nearest possible

school. His wife opted for appointment in

Govt. Girls School, Machiwala but another

candidate who had secured the 5th position

in the merit was appointed there under

political pressure. The complainant’s

wife was appointed 35 kilometres away

from her home. On her request she was

given temporary duty at Machiwala but

later on these orders were also withdrawn.

The complainant requested for an enquiry

and redressal of his grievance.

149

EDO (Education) Mianwali took

the position reported on 7.9.2004 that

nowhere, either in the Recruitment

Policy or advertisement, had it been

mentioned that the candidates would be

given appointment at places of their

choice. The complainant’s wife herself

filed an application for a post in Govt.

Girls School Masti Khelan Wala. She was

therefore, posted there. Temporary duties

were assigned to some Educators. As

contract appointments of all the

Educators were school specific, the

temporary duties were cancelled and they

were directed to report to their place of

actual appointment. They had not

succumbed to any political influence, it

was claimed.

Perusal of the record revealed that

complainant’s wife got first position in

merit in four different schools, including

Machiwala. The policy clearly stated

that the appointments would be school

specific and non transferable. The

candidates had the option of applying for

more than one schools. When a candidate

applied and secured first position in more

than one schools, it was only fair and

logical to get his/her preference because

only then the condition of non

transferability, incorporated in the policy

could be enforced.

It was held that appointing Mst.

Naureen Akhtar in Govt. Girls School

Masti Khelan Wala, when she was at No.1

in the merit list of Machiwala School and

had also requested for appointment there,

was an act of maladministration which

could not be maintained.

In compliance with the

Ombudsman’s direction, E.D.O.

(Education) Mianwali posted the

complainant’s wife at Machiwala vide

order dated 10.6.2005. Thereby, grievance

of the complainant was redressed.

Subject: SUPPLY OF FURNITURE TO SCHOOL

Complaint No. 2659/04-C-IV-116/04.

Malik Allah Ditta complained

stating that a cheque for an amount of

Rs.50,000/- was given to each Primary

School for purchase of furniture which

was required to be deposited in D.C.’s

account. The cheque issued to Govt.

Primary School Taqwaan was deposited

in the account of D.C. Chakwal for supply

of furniture to the school which was not

provided. The complainant requested

that Executive District Officer (Education)

Chakwal be asked to provide furniture to

Govt. Primary School, Taqwaan District

Chakwal.

District Education Officer (EEM)

Chakwal reported on 27.1.2005 that

150

cheque for an amount of Rs.50,000/- was

issued on 10.6.1998 but as the school

was shelterless, the grant was

surrendered. The complainant in his

rejoinder stated that the school building

had been completed about 3/4 years back

and 56 students were studying there. At

least 20 benches/desks, 4/5 chairs and 4

office tables were needed in the school.

District Education Officer Chakwal

reported that from the schools where

furniture was found surplus as compared

to number of students, it was being

withdrawn and reallocated to the schools

where it was found short. Under the

arrangement Govt. Primary School

Taqwaan had been provided the furniture

according to its requirements. The

complainant through his letter dated

27.01.2005 informed that only 20 desk

benches had been provided to the school

which were old and termite affected. He

stated that new furniture should be

provided for the students as well as for the

staff of the school.

On a direction from this Office,

Executive District Officer (Education)

Chakwal in his compliance report

submitted that furniture had been

supplied to the school as per laid down

criteria. The complainant was satisfied

with the final report. The complaint was,

thus, disposed of on 28.3.2005 having

been redressed.

Subject: GRANT OF SELECTION GRADE TO COMPLAINANT’S DECEASED HUSBAND

Complaint No. 169/03 D-III 55/03

Ms. Zahida Jabeen, widow of

Bashir Ahmed Hashmi, SST, Government

High School Shamkot, District Khanewal,

in her complaint stated that selection

grade, BS-17 was due to her late husband

w.e.f. 02.12.1992. He retired on

31.08.1998 and subsequently died. The

selection grade was granted w.e.f

01.01.1999, whereas the same had been

granted to a number of teachers junior to

her husband w.e.f. 02.12.1993. She

requested that her deceased husband may

be granted selection grade from the date it

became due.

On pursuation of this Office, DPI

(Secondary Education) Punjab, vide

order dated 08.03.2005 granted selection

grade (BS-17) to complainant’s deceased

husband w.e.f. 02.12.1993, the date from

which it was due.

Thus, the grievance of a widow was

redressed by the respondent Agency on the

intervention of this Office. Moreover, on

direction from this Office, Secretary

Education issued instructions to all concerned

151

to ensure disposal of such cases expeditiously

with a view to providing relief to the persons

concerned.

Subject: PAYMENT OF REMUNERATION AT ENHANCED RATES FOR MARKING ANSWER BOOKS

Complaint No. 8591/03 D-III 575/03

Mr. Ahmed Aleem, Sub-Examiner

(English) for Intermediate Examinations,

2002 and 2003 filed a complaint stating

that Board of Intermediate and Secondary

Education, Lahore, had offered

remuneration @ Rs.10/- per copy for

evaluating answer books of

Intermediate examination, but payment

@ Rs.7/- per copy was made. He requested

for payment of arrears in accordance with

the rates offered by the BISE, not only to

him but to all other Sub-Examiners.

Board of Intermediate and

Secondary Education, Lahore intimated

that the Board in its meeting held on

25.06.2002 had increased remuneration for

marking answer books from Rs.7/- to

Rs.10/- per copy for the Intermediate

Examinations. However, in the meeting of the

Board held on 01.07.2003, the decision

dated 25.6.2002 was withdrawn and it was

decided to make payment at old rates

retrospectively. Subsequently, in line with the

decision taken by Punjab Boards Committee

of Chairmen held on 1.6.2004, remuneration

rate of Rs.10/- per copy for Intermediate

examination was made applicable w.e.f.

Annual Examination, 2004.

During hearing proceedings it was

observed that the Board vide its order

dated 25.6.2002 had increased

remuneration for marking of Intermediate

examination answer books from Rs.7/- to

Rs.10/- per copy which remained in force

till 30.6.2003. However, vide its

subsequent order dated 1.7.2003, the

Board withdrew the previous order dated

25.06.2002 and decided to make payment

to Sub-Examiners at old rates.

It was found that arbitrary

withdrawal of Board’s decision dated

25.6.2002 after a lapse of more than one

year when the Sub-Examiners had already

performed the assigned duty amounted to

maladministration, under Section 2(2) (i)

(b) of the Punjab Office of the

Ombudsman Act, 1997. The Board was

directed to make payment of remuneration

for marking of answer books, to the

complainant as well as to all other sub-

examiners in respect of examinations held

during the period between 25.06.2002 to

01.07.2003, in the light of its decision

dated 25.06.2002. The Board has filed a

representation u/s 32 of the Act.

152

Subject: ISSUANCE OF PPO TO DAUGHTER ON RE-MARRIAGE OF FATHER

Complaint No. 7658/04 D-II 106/04

Miss. Zaira Batool submitted on

21.12.2004 that her mother who was

Assistant Professor at Government

College for Women, Bhalwal died during

service. Family pension was sanctioned in

her father’s name. However, as her father

had remarried, family pension should have

been transferred to her. She alleged that

inspite of her efforts, the education

authorities of District Sargodha had not

transferred family pension in her name.

The matter was taken up with

District Education Officer (Colleges) and

District Accounts Officer, Sargodha. It

was reported that vide order dated

13.05.2005, family pension had been

transferred in the name of the complainant

who confirmed on 22.5.2005 that she had

received PPO/Pension Book and also the

dues from DAO Sargodha.

Subject: APPOINTMENT OF HOLDERS OF M.Sc. DEGREE IN SOME SUBJECTS AS SSE (ARTS)

Complaint No. IMP 2133/04 D-II 22/04

Mr. Muhammad Mushtaq of Tehsil

Gojra, District T.T. Singh complained on

12.1.2005 that he was M.Sc. Geography

and had applied for the post of SSE (Arts)

but his application was rejected by

DEO(SE), T.T. Singh on the plea that

M.Sc Geography was not “Master of

Arts”. He requested that DEO (SE), T.T.

Singh may be directed to accept his

candidature.

The education authorities of T.T.

Singh reported on 8.3.2005 that the

qualification prescribed under the

government policy for contract

appointment of Educators was “Master of

Arts” for the post of SSE (Arts). Since

M.Sc Geography was “Master of Science”

and not “Master of Arts”, the complainant

was not considered eligible for

appointment.

During investigation, it was

observed that in some subjects i.e.

Commerce, Statistics, Geography,

Psychology etc, degree of M.Sc is granted

at the post graduate level. Persons holding

these degrees are obviously not qualified to

teach physical sciences but may be useful

in imparting education in arts subjects. If

only degree of M.A. for SSE(Arts) and

M.Sc for SSE (Science) are prescribed,

holders of degrees in the subjects

mentioned above will neither be eligible for

arts nor for science subjects. Accordingly,

Special Secretary (Schools), Education

Department was asked on 25.5.2005 to re-

examine the matter for clarification in the

recruitment policy that holders of M.Sc

153

degrees in some subjects (to be specified)

are also eligible for appointment as

SSE(Arts).

The direction has been

implemented by incorporating requisite

clarification in the Recruitment Policy 2005

of the Education Department.

SUBJECT: REOPENING OF SCHOOL AT BHAN SULTAN WALA KHUSHAB

Complaint No. 507/5/05/C-IX-162/05

Mr. Muhammad Iqbal Khan

complained on 4.2.2005 that Government

Girls Primary School, Bhan Sultan Wala

had been closed by the Education

Department since 2003 although, at that

time about 70/80 girls were studying in the

school. Against two sanctioned posts, one

teacher was posted. Subsequently, the only

teacher present in the school was also

transferred out leaving the students

without any teacher. Since then, the

residents of Bhan Sultan Wala had been

requesting the District Education

authorities to reopen the school and post at

least one teacher so that the students could

continue their education. Inspite of their

efforts, the District Education authorities

had not solved the problem, it was

asserted. The complainant requested that

EDO (Education), Khushab may be

directed to reopen the school and post a

teacher there.

The agency reported on 17.3.2005

that teacher had been transferred out of

Primary School Bhan Sultan Wala on

‘wedlock basis’. The geographical

situation of the village was such that

female teachers were reluctant to serve

there. Many a time, teachers had been

posted there but either they got themselves

transferred or did not join. However, a

fresh appointment had been made, the

teacher had joined and the school had

started refunctioning. The Agency assured

that another teacher would be posted in the

school when new appointments are made.

The complaint was accordingly

disposed of on 18.06.2005 with the

following directions to EDO

(Education):

a) It should be ensured that deficiency of teachers vis-à-vis the sanctioned strength in the school is made good after current summer vacation, through fresh appointment or transfer.

b) Minimum requirement of the school of furniture should be met immediately, through new purchase or reallocation.

The directions have been

implemented redressing a common

problem of the community.

154

Subject: GRANT OF FAMILY PENSION

Complaint No. 5509/8/04-C.VI-190/04

Mst. Bilqees Begum in her

complaint dated 3.8.04 averred that her

husband Abdul Rashid was a P.T.C. Teacher

in the Education Department. He served for

more than 10 years and died on 6.12.95. She

applied for grant of family pension but

E.D.O. Education, Gujranwala refused to

accede to her request. She requested that she

may be granted family pension.

Report was called from E.D.O.

Education, Gujranwala and Deputy

District Education Officer (Male), Tehsil

Gujranwala. It was intimated that late

Abdul Rasheed P.T.C. teacher remained

absent from duty w.e.f. 05.11.1992.

Because of his absence from duty, family

pension was not granted. On a query from

this Office Deputy District Education

Officer informed that no enquiry was

initiated against the teacher on the charge

of absence from duty. The contention of

the Department and submission of the

complainant were examined in the light of

the relevant rules. It was observed that no

departmental action was taken against

Mr. Abdul Rashid teacher for his alleged

absence and no punishment was awarded

to him. Therefore, denial of family

pension at a later stage and that too

after his death, was an act of

maladministration.

Accordingly, D.O. Education was

directed to grant pension to the widow of

deceased Abdul Rasheed, P.T.C. Teacher

and take disciplinary action against the

officer/official responsible for inordinate

delay of 10 years to sanction family

pension.

In compliance, District Account

Office, Gujranwala issued PPO No.3036

on 13.9.2005 to the complainant widow

and she received arrears amounting to

Rs.70994/-. Widow of a deceased teacher

got her due rights on the intervention of

this Office.

Subject: ALLOTMENT OF LAND FOR PLAY GROUND

Complaint No. 5152/7/04 CR 512/04

Ch. Mumtaz Ahmed Bajwa,

Councilor Union Council No.11 Chak

No.24/G.D. Okara in his complaint stated

that in the year 2001, he had requested

District Officer (Rev.) Okara through

District Officer Education, for allotment of

state land measuring 14 kanals 7 marlas

for playground for students of Government

Boys Primary School Chak No.23-A/G.D.

Okara. The matter remained under

correspondence with District Officer

(Revenue) Okara who vide his letter dated

31.12.2002 intimated DEO(Edu.), Okara

155

to submit request for allotment of land

through Secretary Education to Board of

Revenue, Punjab. The DEO vide his letter

dated 22.11.2003 submitted proposal to

Secretary Education but it was not

forwarded to the Board of Revenue. The

complainant requested for a direction to

Secretary Education Punjab for taking up

the case with Board of Revenue, Punjab.

Secretary Education reported that matter had been taken up with the Board for allotment of land but their decision was still awaited. The matter was then taken up and pursued with the Board of Revenue, Punjab. DS(Colonies) Board of Revenue in his letter dated 31.3.05 intimated that request of the complainant/Education Department for allotment of requisite land was considered and it was found that as the land applied for was not adjacent to the school, it did not form a compact block, and therefore, could not be transferred to the school.

The reasons given by the Board of Revenue for not transferring the available state land to the Govt. School were considered unacceptable. There was no legal requirement that land for a playground must be contiguous to the school building. The school which did not have contiguous state land available could not be deprived of facility of a playground for all times to come. The Board of Revenue in the Colonies Department was

therefore, directed to transfer 14 kanal and 7 marla of land comprising khasra Nos.10/19/1-2 and 22/1-2, for use as a playground, to the Govt. Boys Primary School, Chak No.23/A GD, Okara. The Board of Revenue vide their letter dated 23.07.2005 intimated that possession of the said land had been transferred to the Education Department with the condition that it would not be utilized for any purpose other than that for which it was allotted.

With the intervention of this Office, state land was provided to the school for use by students as play ground.

Subject: REFUND OF SECURITY

Complaint No. M/96/05 C-I

Muhammad Wasif Qureshi govt.

contractor, stated in his complaint dated

18.1.2005 that he had completed

construction work in Primary School,

Adamwala, Chak No 114/TDA, Tehsil

Layyah in time as per work order dated

21.05.2002 but his security had not been

refunded by the T.O(Finance). He

requested that the Agency be directed to

refund the security amount.

During hearing proceedings, it was

intimated by the Executive District Officer

(F&P) vide report dated 18.06.2005 that

security amounting to Rs.26070/- had been

refunded to the contractor through cheque

dated 21.06.2005.

156

The complainant acknowledged

receipt of cheque. Thus the grievance of

the complainant was got redressed on

intervention of this Office.

EXCISE & TAXATION

Subject: EXEMPTION FROM PAYMENT OF PROPERTY TAX

Complaint No. C-2763/04-Adv-II-185/04

Dr Asad Uddin Butt in his

complaint stated that he owned a house

measuring four marlas and being a retired

govt. servant was entitled to exemption

from payment of property tax but the

Excise and Taxation Department had

recovered Rs.1294/- as property tax of his

house from his son. He approached the

department for refunding the amount but

without success. The Agency (Excise &

Taxation Officer Zone 9 Lahore) filed a

report conceding the claim of the

complainant and explained that the

property tax was recovered because no

request for exemption had been filed with

the office.

After investigating the case,

direction was issued to the Agency on

21.4.2005 to refund the amount recovered

from the complainant. The Agency

complied with the direction and the

grievance of the complainant was

redressed.

Subject: ISSUANCE OF PT-I

Complaint No. C-6908/04 Adv-II 402/05

Muhammad Ishaq Khokhar sated

in his complaint dated 26.10.2004 that on

the death of his father Noor Hussain, he

provided requisite documents to the Excise

and Taxation Department and requested

for issuance of PT-I in respect of property

bearing No. D-VII-15-S. The department

did not respond despite the fact that he

approached many officers of the

department.

The Agency (Excise & Taxation

Officer Zone 1, Gujranwala) in its

comments dated 24.11.2004 stated that

delay occurred because record of the

property had been kept incomplete since

1987-88. During investigation, the Agency

reported on 5.1.2005 that copy of PT-I had

been provided to the complainant who

confirmed this position.

Thus, with the intervention of this

Office the grievance of the complainant

was redressed. However, a direction was

issued on 11.6.2005 to the Executive

District Officer (Revenue) Gujranwala to

examine as to why the record of a property

157

was kept incomplete since 1987-88. The

direction has been implemented as

intimated vide report dated 6.7.2005 and

the department has initiated departmental

action against the delinquent officials.

Subject: REGISTRATION OF VEHICLES

Complaint No. C-160/05-Adv-II-47/05

Noor Mubarak and Munawar

Hussain stated in their complaint dated

12.01.2005 that they had purchased a

Toyota Hiace wagon through open

auction. The machinery and the body of

the vehicle was subsequently got repaired.

However, when they approached Excise &

Taxation Deptt. for registration of the

vehicle, they were informed that the

vehicle purchased in auction could not be

registered. The complainants requested

that instructions be issued to the

department for registering their vehicle.

Motor Registering Authority and

Additional Director General Excise &

Taxation Punjab in their comments filed

on 2.4.2005 took the plea that u/s 37 of the

Motor Vehicles Ordinance 1965, such

vehicles could be registered only if Form

H, duly signed by the maker or the

assembler of the vehicle, was attached

with the request for registration. The

complainants had not been able to provide

the Form or to submit any certificate from

the maker or the authorized assembler of

the vehicle, therefore, their vehicle could

not be registered.

During investigation it was found

that the vehicles purchased in auction are

not repaired by makers or authorized

assemblers. This job is carried out by the

local mechanics. Thus, no purchaser of a

vehicle in auction can fulfill the condition

required to be met by the department. The

department demands certain other

documents which also cannot be provided.

Superior courts have held that when a

government auctions a vehicle, it also

transfers the rights of ownership and the

department should take this fact into

consideration.

Direction dated 30.4.2005 was

therefore, given to Secretary Excise &

Taxation, Govt. of the Punjab, to

formulate a comprehensive policy which is

practicable and based on ground realities.

It was added that this policy should be

widely publicized so that anyone

purchasing vehicle in auction knows as to

under what conditions such vehicle will be

registered. The Secretary has reported that

a Committee has been formed to formulate

the proposed policy.

Subject: MISCONDUCT OF EXCISE OFFICIAL

Complaint No. C-6250/04 Adv-II 400/04

Muhammad Ehsan stated in his

complaint that Excise & Taxation

158

Inspector Parvez Aslam seized registration

book of his Suzuki pick-up No. FDO-7587

on the pretext that he would ascertain if

token tax and other taxes in respect of the

vehicle had been paid. The complainant

approached different officials of the

department but registration book of his

vehicle was not returned, despite the fact

that the Inspector had received Rs. 5000/-

as illegal gratification.

Motor Registering Authority,

Sheikhupura, in its report dated 8.3.2005,

admitted that the Inspector had seized the

registration book of the complainant’s

vehicle because there was over-writing in

it and amount of income tax and token tax

had not been paid. This matter was

enquired from the Treasury Office and

National Bank of Pakistan Main Branch

Sheikhupura.

The allegations were thoroughly

investigated. The representative of the

Agency failed to quote any provision of

law under which an Inspector of the

department was authorized to seize the

registration book. On the other hand, Rule

19 of Motor Vehicle Rules merely

authorizes the Excise & Taxation

Inspector to note down the particulars of

the vehicle, if during checking he finds

that the tax was outstanding. On the basis

of these provisions, the competent

authority was required to issue a notice to

the owner of the vehicle to make up the

deficiency in the amount of tax paid. The

representative of the Agency conceded this

position but explained that the Inspector

had acted according to the practice

prevalent in the department.

As a result of investigation,

Director General, Excise & Taxation,

Punjab was directed on 5.5.2005 to issue

instructions to the officials of his

department not to seize any registration

book against the provisions of law and the

unlawful practice prevalent in the

department should be stopped forthwith.

The Agency reported compliance vide

report dated 16.6.2005.

Subject: EXCESSIVE PROPERTY TAX

Complaint No. C-47/04-Adv-II-7/04

Ziaul Qamar, a retired Pak Air

Force officer filed a complaint against

Excise & Taxation department alleging

that he was being issued notices for

payment of property tax regarding a house

in which he had set up a school and, as per

rules, his property was exempted from

payment of property tax.

The Agency reported on

24.11.2004 that a retired official could

be allowed exemption from property tax

if the entire property had been in his

personal use. Since a part of the house

159

was being used for commercial

purposes, the exemption could not be

allowed to him.

During investigation of the case, a

letter was produced in which Law

Department had advised that if a part of

property is in personal use and the other

part given on rent, the property tax could

be levied only on that part which had been

rented out. Following this analogy, the

Agency was directed on 1.2.2005 to

reassess tax on the property of the

complainant to the extent of that portion of

his house which was being used as school.

The direction has been implemented

and relief provided to the complainant.

Subject: EXEMPTION FROM PROPERTY TAX

Complaint No. M/306/05 C-II

Skindar Hayat filed a complaint on

22.02.2005 stating that the Excise &

Taxation Department, Multan had wrongly

imposed property tax on the house in which

he was living, because it was exempted from

property tax.

The matter was taken up with the

Excise & Taxation Department, Multan.

In their report dated 19.03.05, the

Agency intimated that a survey was

conducted in the year 2003-04 and as

per rules/policy, tax had correctly been

imposed on the property but had not

been paid. The alleged purchase of the

said property by the complainant was

not registered with the Department.

Therefore, fresh survey was necessary to

establish the ownership rights.

On the direction of this Office a

fresh survey was conducted and the

property was exempted from the tax due to

self occupation by the complainant. The

complainant agreed to pay the payable

arrears in installments. The grievance of the

complainant was redressed on the

intervention of this Office.

FOOD

Subject: PAYMENT OF RENT Complaint No. M/03/05 Shahid Yaseen lodged a complaint on 01.01.05 against the District Food Controller, Sahiwal regarding non payment of Rs.30,250/- on account of rent of his land which was hired by the Food Department, Sahiwal for storage of wheat.

The matter was taken up and pursued with the Agency, which intimated vide report dated 06.07.05, that an amount of Rs.22,500/- had been paid to the complainant through bank draft.

The grievance of the complainant was redressed due to the efforts of this Office.

160

FORESTRY, WILDLIFE & FISHERIES

Subject: APPOINTMENT AS FOREST GUARD IN BS-5 UNDER RULE 17-A

Complaint No. 894/04-C-IV/31/04

Mr. Nadeem Abbas lodged a

complaint stating that his father was

declared medically unfit and retired on this

ground after rendering service of 24 years.

The complainant was appointed as

Chowkidar in BS-01 on 02.09.1998 under

rule 17-A of the Punjab Civil Servants

(Appointment and conditions of Service)

Rules 1974. He claimed that being

Matriculate 2nd class with Science subjects

and having six months field training, he

was entitled to appointment as Forest

Guard in BS-5 but his request had not

been acceded to. He requested for a

direction to the Forest Department to

appoint him as Forest Guard in BS-05

under Rule 17-A of the rules ibid.

Conservator of Forests/

Administrator, Lal Sohanra National Park,

Bahawalpur reported that complainant was

appointed against post of Chowkidar in

Bahawalpur Forest Division for which he

was eligible at that time. Two other cases

of similar nature were sent to the

Government, for relaxation of rules

requiring certificate of one year Forest

Guard Course from Punjab Forests School,

for appointment as Forest Guard. As the

Government refused relaxation of one year

forestry course, those candidates being not

eligible for the post of Forest Guard, were

not appointed. The complainant had

already availed of the facility of

appointment as Chowkidar against the

quota reserved for the children of

deceased/invalidated employees and

therefore, his appointment as Forest Guard

was not justified. Moreover, he did not

fulfil the qualification for the post of

Forest Guard (i.e. one year certificate of

Forest Guard Course).

Case of the complainant was duly

considered under the rules. As the

complainant did not possess the requisite

certificate in Forestry from a recognized

school, he could not be appointed against a

post for which he was not qualified. On

the application of his father, the

complainant was appointed as Chowkidar

in BS-1 by the D.F.O. on 2.9.1998. No

case of maladministration could be made

out against the Agency. The complaint

was, therefore, filed on 29.4.2005

161

HEALTH

Subject: ISSUANCE OF DUPLICATE CERTIFICATE OF DISPENSER

Complaint No. 795/2/05/ADV-I-36/05

Malik Manik Din in his complaint

dated 24.2.2005 stated that he applied to

Punjab Medical Faculty for issuance of

duplicate certificate of Dispenser. He

furnished required documents and paid the

fee to the Faculty on December 20, 2004

but the certificate had not been issued.

Registrar, Punjab Medical Faculty with

whom the matter was taken up, reported

on 18.5.2005 that after completing

formalities the complainant was requested

vide letter dated 2.3.2005 to collect the

certificate personally from the office but

he did not turn up. Therefore, the

certificate was sent to him at his given

address vide dispatch No.3145/PMF dated

15.4.2005, through registered cover.

The complainant through his

rejoinder dated 24.5.2005 confirmed

receipt of the duplicate certificate of

Dispenser.

The grievance of the complainant

was redressed by the respondent agency

on intervention of this Office.

Subject: NON-PAYMENT OF SALARY SINCE JULY 2002

Complaint No. 3453/04 ADV-I 138/04

Mr. Ghulam Qambar Imran,

Tubewell Operator/Plumber and Javed

Iqbal, Electrician lodged a complaint on

12.5.2004 stating that they had been

performing their duties in THQ Hospital,

Shujabad, District Multan regularly but

had not been paid their salary since July

2002. E.D.O.(Health), with whom the

matter was taken up, reported on

26.3.2005 that Mr. Javed Iqbal, Electrician

and Ghulam Qambar Imran, Tubewell

Operator had been paid Rs. 39,576/- and

Rs. 51,093/- as arrears of their salaries

respectively.

The grievance of the complainants

was redressed by the respondent agency

on the intervention of this Office.

Subject: PAYMENT OF PENSIONARY DUES

Complaint No.6909/10/04 ADV-I 307/04

Mst. Naseem Akhtar widow of

Aziz Ahmad stated in her complaint that

her husband who was employed as

Laboratory Assistant in King Edward

Medical College, Lahore, proceeded on

LPR for six months w.e.f. 7.9.1975 to

162

6.3.1976 after completing 25 years of

service and thereafter went abroad. On

return, he made efforts to get his pension

but in the meanwhile he fell ill and died on

7.1.1999. She approached the college

authorities for payment of pensionary dues

of her late husband. In May 2004, she

received a letter from the college

authorities for providing certain

documents/information which she supplied

but she was told that she could not get

pension and other dues as the case was

quite old.

On a reference from this Office,

Principal, KEMC reported that Mr. Aziz

Ahmad, late husband of the complainant

remained on the strength of college upto

1974, whereafter the record was silent.

Order of sanction of LPR was not

available, except a photo copy produced

by the complainant. The Principal KEMC

on the direction of this Office, got verified

photo copy of the sanction order from the

then Principal of the college and submitted

a report on 16.4.2005. During

investigation of the case, it was observed

that the complainant’s husband had at his

credit 27 years, 3 months and 11 days

service, qualifying for pension on 6.3.1976

i.e. the date his LPR ended. The college

authorities were required to notify his

retirement w.e.f. 6.3.76 but no orders were

passed with the result that late Aziz

Ahmad could not get his pension during

his life time and even after his death, the

college authorities failed to sanction

pension. It was therefore a clear case of

maladministration. Principal, KEMC was

accordingly directed vide, order dated

18.6.2005 to immediately notify late Aziz

Ahmad’s retirement w.e.f. 6.3.1976,

submit case for payment of pension and

issuance of PPO in favour of the

complainant, to the Audit Office. He was

further directed to pay all other dues and

G.P. Fund of the late employee. Besides,

an enquiry in the matter for fixing

responsibility for not notifying the

retirement of late Aziz Ahmad in time and

processing his case for sanctioning

pension, be also held.

Principal, KEMC accordingly notified the retirement of late Aziz Ahmad vide his office order No. 10512-17/KEMC/05, dated 5.7.2005. PPO was issued by A.G. Punjab in favour of the complainant on 6.8.2005. Case for final payment of G.P. Fund was also submitted on 21.7.2005 by the Principal, to A.G. Punjab for issuance of payment authority. Since the staff of the college working at that time was reported to have already retired and in some cases even passed away, enquiry for fixing responsibility was not considered possible.

163

Nineteen years old grievance of a

widow was redressed by the respondent

Agency on the intervention and direction

of this Office.

Subject: PAYMENT OF STIPEND.

Complaint No. 1994/05/05 ADV-I 80/05

Sufi Muhammad Sarwar Shah lodged a complaint on 30.11.2005 stating that his two daughters had been getting training in Lady Willingdon Hospital, Lahore. They had appeared in the Nurses Training Course Examination in the year 2002-03. Medical Supdt. Lady Willingdon Hospital, Lahore paid them stipend at a monthly rate of Rs.2715/- as against Rs. 3750/-. Medical Supdt. and Director Finance of the hospital had not redressed his grievance and were putting off the same on one pretext or the other for the last about 2 years.

Medical Supdt. Lady Willingdon Hospital, Lahore reported on 30.11.2005 that the delay in paying the stipend to the complainant’s daughters and other trainee Nurses occurred because the Principal, KEMC did not provide her budget for payment of arrears of stipend at new rates effective from 1.12.2001 despite her addressing no less than 17 letters. The budget was provided by the office of Principal, KEMC during 2005-06 and complainant’s daughters, alongwith other 188 trainee Nurses were paid arrears of

stipend through cheques dated 28.11.2005 drawn on National Bank of Pakistan, Anarkali Branch, Lahore.

The grievance of complainant’s daughters and other 188 trainee Nurses was redressed by the respondent agency on the intervention of this Office.

Subject: PAYMENT OF BILLS.

Complaint No. 3665/7/05 ADV-I 207/05

M/s SAM’s Automobiles, Lahore

lodged complaint on 28.7.2005, stating

that they were assigned repair works of

two vehicles by Medical Supdt. Mayo

Hospital, Lahore vide his office letters

dated 26.12.2003 and 22.1.2004 for Rs.

87,000/- and Rs.1,30,000/- respectively.

After completing the works, bills were

submitted to Medical Superintendent,

Mayo Hospital, Lahore but no payment

was made. The complainant requested

intervention of this office for payment of

outstanding dues.

Medical Supdt. Mayo Hospital,

Lahore through his Law Officer reported

on 12.11.2005 that payment amounting to

Rs.1,90,950.00 had been made to the

complainant vide cheque No.84338

against receipt dated 10.11.2005.

Grievance of the complainant was

redressed by the respondent agency on the

intervention of this Office.

164

HUD&PHE

Subject: ALLOTMENT OF PLOT

Complaint No.IMP 1492/04 D-II 15/04

Ali Muhammad of Tehsil T.T.

Singh, a retired government servant of

Education Department, stated in his

complaint that he was allotted a plot

through balloting in housing colony

Gujranwala. He deposited the cost of plot

but the department did not give him

possession. Some allottees also filed a writ

petition in the Lahore High Court, Lahore

which was decided in their favour on

5.6.2000. Inspite of this, the department

did not hand over possession of the plot to

him.

The matter was taken up with the agency. After investigation, PHATA, T.T. Singh was directed vide order dated 30.9.2003 to obtain sanction of the government and deliver possession of plot to the complainant within four months.

Ali Muhammad filed petition in this Office that PHATA, T.T. Singh had not delivered him possession of the plot, inspite of orders dated 30.9.2003.

The matter was again taken up with the agency and it was finally reported that possession of the plot had been handed over to the complainant.

With the efforts of this Office, the petitioner got possession of the plot which had been allotted to him many years back.

IRRIGATION & POWER

Subject: INCREASE IN SIZE OF WATER OUTLET

Complaint No.660/04 POP C-II 40/04

Munnawar Hussain landowner of

Mauza Walla, Tehsil Chiniot District

Jhang having rights in water from outlet

No.202521/R of Rajbah Khader, filed a

complaint stating that his agricultural land,

measuring 23 acres, was included in the

Cultivable Command Area (CCA) of the

aforesaid outlet vide orders of the

Superintending Engineer dated 26.12.02.

Later on, land measuring 98 acres

belonging to him was also included in the

CCA but size of the outlet had not

accordingly been increased despite orders

dated 26.12.2002 of Superintending

Engineer LJC Canal Circle Sargodha. He

requested that concerned authorities of the

Department be directed to increase the size

of the outlet.

On notice, Executive Engineer Karana Division LJC Sargodha submitted his report dated 25.10.2004 stating that size of the outlet had been increased as per approved data after observing all codal formalities.

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The complaint was disposed as

having borne fruit.

Subject: SHIFTING OF HEAD OF WATER OUTLET AND WATER COURSE OUTSIDE THE AREA OF RASAL-E-WALA AIR BASE FAISALABAD

Complaint No. 9277/03 POP C-II 493/03

Muhammad Shabbir Naeem, Sikandar Ali and others of Chak No. 241/RB Tehsil & District Faisalabad whose lands were irrigated from outlet No. 14504/L of Rajbah Tararr filed complaint stating that head of the outlet was situated in the area of Rasal-e-Wala Air Base, Faisalabad. As the water course which carried canal water to their lands from the outlet, passed through the prohibited area of the Air Base, they were facing great inconvenience in maintaining the water course and irrigating their lands due to security measures at the Air Base. They approached the concerned authorities of the Deptt. to shift head of water outlet but with no result. It was prayed that head of the outlet and water course be got shifted outside the Air Base area.

The grievance was taken up with the Executive Engineer Irrigation Hafizabad Canal Division Faisalabad and Chief Engineer Irrigation Faisalabad Zone. The Executive Engineer in his reply submitted that the matter regarding bifurcation of water course was already

under his consideration on the application of one Sikandar. The proposed alternative route of water course traversed through squares no. 78, 79 & 80 which belonged to Provincial Government and was recorded in possession of Pakistan Railways. Executive District Officer (Revenue) Faisalabad had been requested to issue No Objection Certificate in respect of the above mentioned state land which was required to proceed further in the matter. This office simultaneously made reference to Executive District Officer (Revenue) Faisalabad for issuing NOC. Sub Divisional Officer, Ukbana Sub Division, Faisalabad appeared in this Office and reported that after obtaining necessary NOC from District Officer (Revenue), a separate water course had been sanctioned for the complainants, in accordance with Section 68 of the Canal & Drainage Act 1873. The complaint was disposed of vide this Office order dated 01.02.2005 having borne fruit. Grievance of the complainants was redressed by the Agency on the intervention of this Office.

Subject: PAYMENT OF COMPENSATION OF STANDING CROPS

Complaint No.133/01/05 POP C-II 07/05

Karam Din and others filed

complaint on 08.01.2005 stating that

Gojra–Khewrra Drain was constructed in

2003 on their lands situated in village

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Rakh Kakki Kohna Tehsil Shorkot,

District Jhang. Compensation of the

acquired land had been paid to them by the

agency but compensation of Rabi 2003

crop had not been paid. On the advice of

the agency, copies of Khasra Girdawari,

market rent and average yield per acre etc.,

duly certified by the concerned authorities

of the Revenue Department were provided

but even then compensation was not paid.

They approached the Land Acquisition

Collector and the Project Director SCARP

Faisalabad for the purpose but to no avail.

The complainants prayed for a direction to

the agency to pay them compensation of

Rabi 2003 crop.

During investigation of the

complaint, representative of the agency

stated that Land Acquisition Collector had

requested the Project Director to provide

funds amounting to Rs.12,986/- for the

purpose and that on receipt of funds

compensation of the crops would be paid

to the complainants. Land Acquisition

Collector reported on 29.10.2005 that

payment of compensation of standing

crops had been made to Karam Din and

other complainants.

The complaint was disposed of

vide this Office order dated 31.10.2005 as

having borne fruit due to the action taken

by this Office.

Subject: REMOVAL OF ENCROACHMENTS FROM THE WATER COURSE

Complaint No. 2605/04/04 POP C-II 375/04

Inayat Ullah, landowner in chak

No.62/JB Tehsil and District Faisalabad

filed a complaint stating that Assistant

Commissioner/Deputy District Officer

(Revenue) Sadar Sub Division, Faisalabad

passed orders under Section 32/34 of the

Colonization of Government Lands

(Punjab) Act 1912 for removal of

encroachments from the water course

falling in khasra No.131/132 but these had

not been implemented by the concerned

officials of the Irrigation and Revenue

Departments. Supply of canal water had

been affected badly due to encroachments

on the water course. It was requested that

concerned authorities of the said

Departments be directed to remove

encroachments from the water course.

In his report Deputy Collector

Faisalabad Canal Division, Faisalabad,

stated that 14 days notice under the law

had been issued by the Divisional Canal

Officer to the encroachers to remove

encroachments from the water course. In

case they did not remove encroachments,

action under the law would be taken

against them.

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Deputy District Officer (Revenue)

Sadar, Faisalabad intimated that

encroachments from Khara No. 131/132,

comprising ‘ghair mumkin khal’ and

‘shar-e-aam’, had been removed on

16.07.2005 and possession of encroached

land had been retrieved from the

encroachers.

The complainant appeared on

11.08.2005 and confirmed that

encroachments on the water course had

been removed on 16.07.2005 by the

Revenue Department.

The complaint was disposed of

vide this Office order dated 13.08.2005 as

having borne fruit.

Subject: PAYMENT OF ARREARS OF PAY FOR THE SERVICE RENDERED AS WORK CHARGED EMPLOYEE

Complaint No. 5983/04 POP C-II 438/04

Mst. Mehran Bibi filed a complaint

stating that the government vide

Notification No.FD-PR-1-3/77(Pt-II) dated

21.11.2001 had allowed 40% increase in

pay of work charged employees which

they were drawing on 01.03.1972. Her late

husband was drawing Rs.80/- per month

on 29.9.1972 but incremental benefit had

not been given to him. She requested for

making necessary entries in the service

book of her late husband and payment of

arrears of difference of pay to her.

Executive Engineer, Faisalabad

Drainage Division, in his reports dated

14.01.2005 and 11.03.2005 stated that

necessary entries had been made in the

service book of late Peera Beldar and the

pay had been re-fixed pursuant to the

Finance Department Notifications dated

25.07.2000 and 21.11.2001. District

Accounts Officer, Hafizabad had also

verified the entries in the service book

with regard to re-fixation of pay. The bill

of arrears of difference in pays amounting

to Rs.3309/-was passed by District

Accounts Officer Faisalabad on

22.02.2005 and the amount of arrears paid

to the complainant on 04.03.2005.

The grievance having been

redressed, the complaint was disposed of

vide this Office order dated 17.03.2005.

Subject: NON PAYMENT OF T.A. BILLS

Complaint No.9373/11/03 POP C-II 499/03

Muhammad Akram filed complaint

that he retired on 11.6.2001 as Ziladar

from Irrigation Department. His T.A.bills

for an amount of Rs.8980/-were pending

in the office of Executive Engineer

Ahmedpur Canal Division. He approached

the Executive Engineer, Superintending

168

Engineer and the Chief Engineer,

Irrigation, Bahawalpur Zone several times

but with no result. He sought intervention

of this Office in the matter.

Executive Engineer Ahmedpur Canal Division, Ahmedpur East, reported that all T.A.bills of the complainant pertaining to the period he remained posted in his Division, had been paid to him. However, T.A.bills for the period from 06/1998 to 12/1998 could not be paid as he was transferred to various Divisions of Bahawalpur Zone but transfer orders could not mature as the officer was not accepted by the Divisional Canal Officers. T.A. bills for 06/1999, 07/1999 and 09/1999 to 12/1999 could not be paid due to non availability of funds and the same became time barred. The time barred TA bills were sent to Secretary Irrigation on 09.12.2002 seeking permission /approval of Finance Department.

The Finance Department made certain observations which were replied by the Chief Engineer on 13.09.2004. The requisite non payment certificate was also provided to them but permission/sanction was not conveyed by Finance Department. TA claim could not be paid to the complainant and in the meantime he expired.

Direction was given to Secretary I & P to ensure that TA claim of the complainant (deceased) be finalized by

15.02.2005. He was also asked to take action against those responsible for delaying the case and submit a report on that count as well.

The Department reported on 22.11.2005 that payment of pending TA claim had been made to the widow of late Muhammad Akram Ziladar, Mst. Safia Begum who also confirmed on 26-11-2005, receipt of Rs.8832/- on account of pending TA bills of her late husband. Hassan Rafique Senior Auditor of the office of District Accounts Officer Bahawalpur was found responsible for the delay and show cause notice was issued to him. The pre-audit work was also withdrawn from him.

The complaint was disposed of vide this Office order dated 09.12.2005 as having been redressed albeit with considerable delay.

Subject: ALLOTMENT OF STATE LAND FOR CHRISTIAN ABADI AND GRAVEYARD

Complaint No.7908/09/03 POP C-II 432/03

Mst Rashida Bibi Minority

Councilor Tehsil Kabirwala, District

Khanewal filed a complaint stating that

Christian Community of Abdul Hakim,

Tehsil Kabirwala had been trying since

15.09.1986 for allotment of state land

comprising khasra Nos.1711/2 and 1742

measuring 13 kanals, 12 marlas & 6

sarsahi for residential colony and

169

graveyard. They submitted a number of

applications to the revenue authorities for

the purpose but the same were filed.

During investigation of the complaint, a

fresh application dated 16.12.2003 was

submitted by the complainant wherein

alternative state land had been identified

comprising killa Nos.21, 22 of Sq.No.56

and killa Nos.22 to 25 of Sq.No.57.

Request for allotment of land for Christian

colony, church, Boys & Girls Schools,

Sewing School and Janjghar (Marriage

Hall), was made.

Deputy District Officer (Revenue)

Kabirwala submitted report stating that

khasra Nos. 1711/2 and 1742 of Mauza

Abdul Hakim were situated inside Abdul

Hakim city. Khasra No.1711/2 measuring

5 kanals and 12 marlas was owned by

Town Committee Abdul Hakim. It was

situated adjacent to the Christian colony

and was being used for drainage of sullage

water. Khasra No.1742 measuring 8 kanals

was owned by Provincial Government out

of which an area measuring 4 kanals & 18

marlas was available. On the remaining

area Ghair Mumkin Abadi existed. Vacant

area of this khasra was also being used for

sullage water drainage. The stance of the

Agency was that land for graveyard could

not be allotted in the residential area.

Moreover, state land was not available for

residential colony. However, allotment of

killas No. 24 and 25 of Sq.No.57 for

Christian graveyard was under

consideration in the office of District

Officer (Revenue) Khanewal.

The representative of the Agency

appeared on 15.01.2005 and stated that

killas No. 24 & 25 of Sq.No.57 situated in

Mauza Abdul Hakim had been

reserved/allotted by District Officer

(Revenue) for Christian graveyard. The

complainant also confirmed the above

mentioned position in her written

statement. Thus a problem of the

community was got solved.

Subject: DEFIANCE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE OMBUDSMAN PUNJAB

Complaint No. 102/01/2000 Imp. Petition. No. 56/02/2003

Mr. Abdur Rashid Awan in his

complaint alleged that he applied to the

Superintending Engineer, Lower Chenab

Canal, East Circle Faisalabad on

31.12.1995 for including his land situated

in Chak No. 105/GB in CCA. The case

remained under process for about 1½

years, whereafter proceedings were

stopped on the plea that Chief Engineer

Irrigation Faisalabad Zone had imposed

ban on 26.05.1996 on including further

land/new areas in the CCA of the Outlets.

Although, in two cases, the land was

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included in the CCA during the ban, yet

the case of the complainant was dropped.

To rectify the alleged discrimination, the

complainant sought intervention of the

Ombudsman.

During investigation, the then

Superintending Engineer, alongwith

Executive Engineer Lower Gogera Canal

Division, appeared in this office and

intimated that the ban had been lifted.

Complainant’s case would be processed

and decided on priority basis. On

assurance of the Superintending Engineer,

the complaint was disposed of.

The Complainant and his brother

Abdul Aziz filed Implementation Petition

No. 56/02/2003 on 10.02.2003 stating that

as per assurance given, the Special

Committee headed by the Chief Engineer

considered their case and cleared it on

09.04.2003. The Executive Engineer also

recommended to bring their land under

CCA of outlet No. 67300/R of Pauliani

Rajbah and submitted to Superintending

Engineer for confirmation but he did not

confirm on the ground that ownership of

the area to be included in the CCA was not

supported from fard malkiat in favour of

the petitioners.

During hearing proceedings of the

implementation petition, the complainant

averred that the Superintending Engineer

had passed the said order with malafide

intention, despite clearance by the Special

Committee and recommendation of the

Executive Engineer. He pointed out that

lands of three other persons had been

included in the CCA, despite the fact that

they had not yet acquired proprietary

rights of the state land allotted to them

under various schemes and the lands

belonged to Provincial Govt. It was

asserted that complainant’s case was

identical to those of the said allottees of

the state land.

On enquiry from this office, the

then S.E. admitted that canal water had

been sanctioned to a number of allottees of

state land who had not yet acquired

proprietary rights.

Superintending Engineer (Mr.

Aurangzeb Cheema) was directed vide

order dated 8.11.04 to review the order

dated 4.3.2004 and decide the case of the

complainant afresh in the light of

precedented cases and recommendation of

the Executive Engineer. Compliance

report was required to be submitted by

30.12.2004.

As the compliance report was not

received by the due date, a show cause

notice under Section 12(2) of The Punjab

Office of the Ombudsman Act 1997 was

171

issued on 27.04.2005 to Mr. Augrangzeb

Cheema Superintending Engineer. The

Superintending Engineer neither appeared

in person nor did he submit reply to the

notice. Therefore, a report about Defiance

of Recommendations of the Ombudsman

by the S.E. was sent to Secretary to

Government of the Punjab Irrigation and

Power Department under Section 12(2) for

making it part of the character roll of Mr.

Auranzeb Cheema, the Superintending

Engineer, responsible for the Defiance.

The Secretary was also asked to

implement the Ombudsman’s direction

and submit report by 30.06.2005.

The Department intimated on

30.11.2005 that the report had been placed

in the character roll of Mr. Aurangzeb

Cheema, Superintending Engineer.

The Irrigation & Power Department directed Superintending Engineer/Canal Officer to implement Ombudsman’s directions. He confirmed the recommendation dated 21-08-2003 of Executive Engineer Lower Gogera Canal Division. The lands of the complainant and his brother, measuring 27.51 acres, were included in the CCA of outlet No. 67300/R. The grievance of the petitioners was redressed on the intervention of Ombudsman’s Office.

LABOUR & HUMAN RESOURCE

Subject: REPAIR OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES

Complaint No. M/ 458/05 C-III/56/05

Faiz Muhammad S/o Kaloo Khan

complained on 18.03.05 that he was a

licensee for repairing and

manufacturing/dealing in weights and

measures under the Punjab Weights and

Measures (International System)

Enforcement Rules 1976. The Govt. of

Punjab, vide notification dated 23.09.02,

amended the Rules whereby all licenses

issued were treated as cancelled and

repairers were permitted to carry out their

business without requirement of any

license. The complainant alleged that the

Labour Inspector, instead, had issued

notices to all concerned that weights and

measures should be got repaired from the

Govt. Mistree/repairer only. Aggrieved

with this notice, the complainant lodged

this complaint.

The agency informed on 04.06.05

that Labour Inspector, permitted the

repairers of certain class to work in the

camps arranged for approving weights etc.

The department relied on the instructions

of Controller of Weights and Measures,

whereby camps were to be arranged to

facilitate the shopkeepers. In such camps

172

only the accepted class of Mistrees were

allowed to repair the weights and

measures, which were produced before the

authority for approval/clearance.

The investigation revealed that with the abolition of licenses, all repairers were on equal footings to do their jobs in accordance with law. The impugned notice restricted the repair work to a certain class of Mistrees as against the spirit of the notification issued by the Punjab Govt. The agency was directed on 2.11.2005 to

allow all repairers to repair the weights and measures in the camps arranged for the purpose with the condition that they would issue necessary cash memos to facilitate the Labour Inspector concerned to check whether the workshop indicated in the cash memo was located on the given address or otherwise.

The direction was complied with.

The grievance of the complainant was got

redressed.

LDA

Subject: DEPOSIT OF PENSION CONTRIBUTION

Complaint No. C-542/05 Adv-II 93/05

Mr Abdul Razzaq Bhatti, Presiding

Officer Punjab Labour Court No. 2

Lahore, stated in his complaint dated

9.2.2005 that he served on deputation with

the Lahore Development Authority as

Presiding Officer of its Tribunal for the

period from 3.2.2003 to 15.11.2003, but

pension contribution for that period had

not been remitted by LDA despite a letter

from the Accountant General Punjab. The

complainant requested for a direction to

Director General LDA to deposit pension

contribution in the Govt. Treasury.

The Agency in its report dated

3.3.2005 conceded the demand of the

complainant and under the direction of this

Office, deposited the requisite pension

contribution in the Govt. Treasury.

Thus, with the intervention of the

Ombudsman, the problem of the

complainant was solved.

Subject: REQUEST FOR ALLOTMENT OF PLOT

Complaint No. 5438/2003-A.S-13/05

Dr. Riaz Ahmad submitted a

complaint on 30.6.05, that a piece of land

owned by him in Mauza Niaz Baig was

acquired by LDA for Johar Town Scheme.

LDA failed to allot him a plot, inspite of

the fact that development charges etc.,

amounting to Rs.48,705/-, had been paid

in response to a demand notice issued to

him by the Authority. No action was being

173

taken for allotment of plot inspite of the

fact that he visited the Agency office a

number of times.

Report of the Agency, dated

19.08.2003, stated that the complainant

was asked to submit some documents vide

letter dated 25.01.2000, but he failed to

provide the same. The complainant, in his

rejoinder, informed that he had already

paid the requisite fee to the concerned

Revenue Staff/Patwari and Naib Tehsildar,

but they had not prepared the required

documents. On direction of this office, the

requisite documents were prepared by the

officials of Revenue Department and on

submission of the same to LDA

authorities, two plots measuring 150 sqm

each, were exempted in favour of the

complainant in MA Johar Town Scheme,

Lahore.

The complaint was disposed of

having been fructified.

LG & RD

Subject: NON ISSUANCE OF COMPLETION CERTIFICATE

Complaint No: C- 5051/04-203/05 C-I

Mr. Atta-ur-Rehman filed

complaint alleging that TMA, Sheikhupura

did not issue him certificate of completion

of his house. M/s Muhammad Naeem and

Habib, employees of TMA had demanded

illegal gratification of Rs.1000/- from him.

He requested that the officials be

proceeded against in accordance with the

law and completion certificate be issued to

him.

The grievance was taken up with

Tehsil Officer (I&S), TMA, Sheikhupura

who reported that the complainant

submitted residential building plan on

7.3.1995 which was sanctioned. He

started using the building for

commercial purposes. Completion

certificate could not be issued, as he had

deviated from the sanctioned building

plan. The allegation of demand of

illegal gratification was not proved. The

complainant submitted revised building

plan on 28.7.2004 which was sanctioned

on 12.3.2005 whereafter, completion

certificate was issued.

Grievance of the complainant was

got redressed by this Office.

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POLICE

Subject: GRANT OF AWARD OUT OF SHAHEED FUND

Complaint No. C-188/04 Adv-II 252/05

Mst Abida Parveen in her complaint stated that her husband Shafqat Ali was martyred while performing his official duties. DIG, Sargodha Range recommended payment of Rs.3,00,000/- to her out of Shaheed Fund and Home Department allowed payment of her husband’s salary to her. Later, she was informed that compensation out of Shaheed Fund was not to be paid to her and payment of monthly salary was also stopped.

The Agency (DIG Welfare and Finance Punjab Police) in its comments reported that Compensation Committee had not approved the award of compensation to the complainant because her husband did not fulfill the conditions laid down in The Police (Award of Compensation) Rules 1989.

The matter was investigated and record examined. It was revealed that the Compensation Committee, while rejecting the case of the complainant, had given no reasons and had failed to properly examine the case. The enquiry report put up before the Committee showed that some police officials, whose negligence resulted in the escape of some under trial prisoners, were dismissed from service. The complainant’s

husband was considered one of them but as a matter of fact, in the report, his conduct had been appreciated because he had laid down his life while performing his duty. It was also observed that monthly salary allowed to the complainant was stopped despite the fact that notification of the Home Department allowing her this facility was still intact.

In view of the findings of investigation, PPO Punjab was directed on 26.05.2005 to resubmit the complainant’s case to the Compensation Committee and also to ensure that monthly salary allowed to the complainant was paid to her till the Compensation Committee gave its findings afresh.

The Agency reported on 24.08.2005 that the Compensation Committee, while reconsidering the complainant’s case, had allowed her compensation out of Shaheed Fund. Thus, with the intervention of this Office, grievance of the widow of a martyred police official was redressed.

Subject: IRREGULARITIES COMMITTED IN PURCHASE OF STORES IN CID PUNJAB

Complaint No. C-6062/04 Adv-II 134/05

Saeed Butt stated in his complaint that he had worked as a contractor with the office of CID Punjab Lahore for a few

175

months. His bills for payment of Rs.3,25,000/- were still under process with the department. He submitted many applications for clearing his outstanding dues but the department did not respond.

The Agency, (DIG, CID Punjab Police) in its comments reported on 27.1.2005 that the complainant had worked as supplier. He advanced money to Store Incharge Aslam Shahid, ASI and also provided him some signed documents. On a complaint that payment was not made to him, an enquiry was held which revealed that the complainant had voluntarily advanced cash to Store Incharge and provided documents to him. The Store Incharge purchased goods from the market and received the payment. The complainant had acted on his own risk. Payment of all the goods purchased had been made by the department. No amount was outstanding against Aslam Shahid and the complainant was merely trying to take advantage of procedural deviation committed by him.

Allegations were thoroughly investigated. Store Incharge of the department admitted that in order to ensure immediate purchase of articles, he used the documents provided by the complainant. When the bill was passed, he (Store Incharge) received payment in cash himself because he had purchased the articles from the market. Payment was not

made through cheque as was required under the Purchase Manual. Since the complainant advanced cash and provided documents of his firms, he was paid a certain percentage of commission. However, all the amounts advanced by the complainant had been adjusted against receipts.

The investigation further disclosed that the department had been purchasing articles against the provisions of Purchase Manual and paying commission to the complainant which was a clear case of maladministration.

The Provincial Police Officer, Punjab was issued directions on 20.6.2005 to arrange special audit of CID Punjab and initiate proceedings against those who violated the provisions of the Purchase Manual.

Internal audit of purchases made by CID has been conducted entailing disciplinary proceedings against the delinquent ASI. The PPO is being asked to have the external audit also conducted.

Subject: MISCONDUCT OF POLICE OFFICIALS

Complaint No. C-1317/04 Adv-II 223/05

Hajran Bibi filed a complaint

alleging that police constable Muhammad

Arif and wireless Operator Muhammad

Zafar of PS City Bahawalnagar, who

176

happened to be her neighbours, were

harassing her. They also intended to

murder her poor husband. She tried to get

a criminal case registered against the said

police officials but higher police officers

did not listen to her.

The complaint was investigated. It

was observed that police hierarchy of the

District was not willing to register a case

despite the fact that complaint disclosed a

cognizable offence. DIG Bahawalpur was

therefore, issued a direction on 24.3.2005

to get the case registered in the concerned

police station and investigated by an

impartial police official.

The Agency reported on 9.5.2005

that the criminal case had been registered

against the police officials.

On the intervention of this Office a

legal remedy available for the complainant

was provided to her.

Subject: FAILURE TO TAKE ACTION ON REGISTRATION OF CASE

Complaint No. 2386/04 DI -189/04

Mst. Nazeeran Bibi filed a

complaint on 30.03.2004 stating that she

lodged FIR No. 117/04 against the accused

persons under sections 448/337 AI

F1/148/149 PPC at P.S. Sadar Hafizabad.

She alleged that neither the accused were

arrested nor the stolen property was

recovered from them. The accused persons

committed theft in her house but Zafar

Shah SHO, P.S. Sadar Hafizabad did not

register case against them, despite the fact

that District and Sessions Judge,

Hafizabad had passed orders.

DPO, Hafizabad sent his report

containing following details:-

(i) FIR No. 117/2004 under sections 448/337 A1, F1/148/149 PPC, P.S. Police Station Sadar Hafizabad was registered on the application of the complainant stating that accused Irshadullah and others armed with firearms gave beating to her brother Muhammad Ashiq. Investigation in the case revealed that no occurrence, as alleged in the FIR, had taken place and complainant’s brother had obtained medico-legal certificate of self inflicted injuries. Cancellation report, therefore, had been prepared in the case.

(ii) FIR No. 153/04 under sections 457/380 PPC P.S. Sadar Hafizabad was lodged by complainant Mst. Nazeeran Bibi through an application submitted before District and Sessions Judge, Hafizabad. It transpired during investigation that no theft had taken place in complainant’s house. Therefore, cancellation report had been prepared in the case.

Investigation of both the cases

revealed that there was enmity between

the parties and they were submitting

applications against each other. It was also

177

found that there was a dispute between the

parties on some agricultural land and a

residential ‘haveli’. The complainant lady

wanted to sell the ‘haveli’, whereas the

opposite party opposed the sale.

After hearing complainant in this

Office, it was found that she wanted to get

possession of ‘haveli’ and the residential

houses. This matter did not come within

the purview of the local police. However,

the complainant and Irshad Ullah (brother

of complainant’s deceased husband) were

summoned with a view to resolving

informally the dispute between them.

Irshad Ullah agreed after a lot of

persuasion that although the complainant

had no documentary proof of her share in

the ‘haveli’ and residential houses, yet he

was prepared to share the said property

with her, provided she resides in the

’haveli’. The complainant, however, did

not agree to the proposal.

As no maladministration had been

established and efforts to resolve the

differences did not succeed, the complaint

was filed.

Subject: NOT ARRESTING ACCUSED IN A DACOITY CASE

Complaint No. 95/04 DI-09/04 Mr. Muhammad Shaukat

complained that six accused came to his

godown on the night between

10/11.12.2003. They tied the chowkidar

with ropes and on gun point took away

ghee, soap and oil worth Rs. 4,75,000/-

after loading in a truck. He got registered

FIR No. 311/03 under section 395 PPC at

P.S. City Wazirabad against accused Tariq

Naveed Qamar. The local police arrested

the nominated accused alongwith Habib

Ahmad and Muhammad Ashiq, but

recovered from them case property worth

Rs. 40,000/- only and the truck. He

requested for a direction to the local police

to arrest the remaining accused and

recover whole of the stolen property from

them.

District Police Officer, Gujranwala

reported that accused Tariq Naveed Qamar

was arrested who stated before the

Investigation Officer that accused Habib

Ullah and Muhammad Ashiq had actually

committed the offence. They were also

arrested, stolen property was recovered

and they were sent to judicial lock up.

Accused Tariq Naveed Qamar was,

however, declared innocent during

investigation but the Ilaqa Magistrate did

not agree with the findings and sent him as

well to judicial lock up. The DPO assured

that no injustice would be done to

anybody.

After hearing the complainant in

this Office, it was observed that challan in

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the case had been submitted in the court,

wherein three accused were appearing but

no efforts were made to arrest the

remaining four accused who were at large.

Perusal of police file revealed that last

‘zimni’ recorded in connection with the

arrest of the remaining accused was dated

18.07.2004, whereafter nothing had been

done by the Investigation Officer.

The DPO was therefore, directed

that serious and meaningful efforts be

made for the arrest of the absconding

accused and recovery of the stolen

property. It was further directed that

Superintendent of Police (Investigation),

Gujranwala would supervise the

investigation on fortnightly basis to

monitor progress in the case.

In compliance, a team comprising

ASP/SDPO Wazirabad and SHO PS City,

Wazirabad, headed by SP (Investigation),

Gujranwala, was constituted by DPO,

Gujranwala for arresting the absconding

accused. Muhammad Rafi, one of the

absconding accused was got transferred

from Central Jail, Multan to PS City,

Wazirabad. His physical remand was

obtained and 20 tins of ghee were

recovered from him. After necessary

investigation, he was sent to judicial lock

up. Supplementary challan was sent to the

court for adjudication.

The case was disposed of as the

directions issued by the Ombudsman had

been complied with by the Agency.

Subject: GRANT OF COMMUTATION

Complaint No.6592/10/04 C.VI 565/04

Riffat Begum wd/o Muhammad

Ilyas, Constable filed a complaint on

4.10.2004 stating that her husband after

putting in 26 years of service died on

21.4.2002. Due to his illness, he remained

absent from duty and was dismissed from

service on 18-9-2001. On his appeal

Deputy Inspector General Police (Traffic)

converted the penalty of dismissal from

service into compulsory retirement.

Family pension was allowed but payment

of commutation was refused to her. She

requested that she be granted

commutation.

The matter was taken up with

Capital City Police Officer, Lahore who

reported on 25.3.2005 that Muhammad

Ilyas, Constable, Mst. Riffat Begum’s

husband was dismissed from service on

18.9.2001. On his appeal, punishment of

dismissal from service was converted into

compulsory retirement. According to the

Government of Punjab, Finance

Department Notification No.FD-SR.III-4-

189/2002, dated 12.4.2003 Government

has allowed commutation only to widow

of a compulsorily retired government

179

servant who dies before signing his

pension claim. The case of Muhammad

Ilyas did not come under this category.

Therefore, the claim of commutation could

not be accepted.

The case was duly examined. It

was observed that Muhammad Ilyas,

Constable, would have to be considered

retired from service with effect from

18.9.2001. He died on 21.4.2002. Had the

appeal been decided in his life time, ex-

Constable would have drawn his pension

from 18.9.2001 to 21.4.2002 and got the

opportunity of opting for commutation.

However, he died before the order in his

appeal was passed. Family of a deceased

government servant, who after having

been compulsorily retired could not sign

his pension papers due to death, has been

declared by Finance Department, entitled

to commuted value of pension.

It was found that the instant case

also fell in the same category and denial of

commutation to the complainant was an

act of maladministration. Capital City

Police Officer, Lahore and the District

Accounts Officer were accordingly

directed to process complainant’s case for

granting commutation under the rules.

In compliance of this order the

complainant was paid Rs.85,136/- as

commuted portion of pension. Grievance

of the complainant was, thus, redressed.

Subject: DISPENSATION OF JUSTICE

Complaint No: M/866/05

Haji Imtiaz Ahmad R/o Mohallah

Mumtazabad, Quaid-e-Azam Road,

Tandlianwala, Faisalabad submitted a

complaint on 18.5.05 alleging that his

brother Haq Nawaz was murdered on the

5th day of the month of Ramadhan. FIR

No.571/04 u/s 302/34 PPC was lodged at

P.S. Farid Town, Sahiwal, but the police

had not arrested the accused. The accused

party offered compensation but he refused

to accept it. He prayed that justice may be

provided.

Report dated 11.7.2005, from the

agency indicated that the investigation had

been conducted by various agencies. It

was found that the deceased committed

suicide and the accused was innocent.

Accordingly, a discharge report was

completed and submitted in the court. The

Agency was directed to pursue the matter

with the Illaqa Magistrate for passing

orders on the report submitted by it u/s

173 Cr.P.C. As per order dated 28.9.05,

produced in this Office by the

representative of the Agency, the Illaqa

Magistrate had not agreed with the

discharge report and the Police had been

directed to submit the challan of the case

in the court within 14 days, which was

done.

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Thus, the grievance of the

complainant was redressed in which this

Office also played its role.

Subject: INORDINATE DELAY IN REGISTRATION OF CRIMINAL CASE

Complaint No.685/01/04 D-III 33/04

Ms. Razia Sultana, D/o Malik

Manzoor Arain, filed a complaint alleging

that on 08.10.2003 “Zina-Biljabar” was

committed with her. Complainant and her

mother many a time visited Police Station,

Musafarkhana, District Bahawalpur for

lodging FIR. District Public Safety

Commission, Bahawalpur, also made a

number of references to the DPO for

lodging the FIR. Despite all these, the

police did not register FIR against the

accused. She requested that a case be got

registered against the accused and he

should be tried as per law.

The matter was taken up with

DPO, Bahawalpur, who, vide report dated

21.07.2004, informed that on the

application of the complainant, a criminal

case FIR No. 57/04, dated 27.02.2004 was

registered against Abdul Malik accused.

He was arrested and challaned to the court

on 01.07.2004.

During hearing proceedings, it was

observed that the case was registered with

considerable delay i.e. after about 4 ½

months of the occurrence, despite the fact

that the complainant and her mother kept

visiting the Police Station. District Public

Safety Commission also wrote to DPO,

Bahawalpur, for necessary action and

issued four reminders. Taking notice of

inordinate delay in registration of the case,

this Office vide order dated 14.02.2005

directed the Provincial Police Officer/IGP,

Punjab to enquire into the matter, ascertain

as to why a cognizable offence reported to

the local police and to the DPO was not

registered and take appropriate

disciplinary action against those found

responsible for this state of affairs.

As per compliance report dated

14.10.2005, received from PPO, Punjab,

Inspector Jamshaid Akhtar was proceeded

against on the charge of delaying

registration of a cognizable offence and

extending undue favour to the accused.

Although the accused Police Inspector was

held guilty of the charges by District

Police Officer, Bahawalpur and DIG of

Police, Bahawalpur, yet by taking a lenient

view he was issued only warning keeping

in view “his clean Service Record”.

On the said report, it was observed

that “warning” given to the accused Police

Inspector was not a “punishment”

provided in the Punjab Removal from

Service (Special Powers) Ordinance,2000.

181

The order passed by DIG Police,

Bahawalpur, being not in consonance with

the provisions of the Ordinance, the PPO

Punjab was advised to re-examine the

matter in the context of Ordinance.

Subject: IMPROPER INVESTIGATION IN RAPE CASE

Complaint No. 286-01/05/C-V-16/05

Mst. Naseem Bibi in her complaint

registered on 24.1.2005 stated that

Muhammad Siddique committed “Zina

Biljabar” with her daughter. She reported

the incident to Police Station Chishtian.

FIR bearing No. 502/04 was registered u/s

10(3) Offence of Zina (Enforcement of

Hudood) Ordinance, 1979, against accused

Muhammad Siddique. She alleged that

Investigating Officer Javed Iqbal Gondal,

ASI demanded Rs.30,000/- as illegal

gratification for conducting ‘proper’

investigation and threatened that if it was

not paid, he would cancel the case. She

paid him Rs.11,000/- on 2.12.2004 in the

presence of witnesses and promised to pay

the balance amount within two or three

days which she could not. After receiving

illegal gratification from the accused, the

investigating officer did not recover 30

bore pistol from him and challaned him u/s

354 PPC instead of section 10(3) Offence

of Zina (Enforcement of Hudood)

Ordinance, 1979. She requested to take

action against the said ASI.

On taking up complaint with the

Agency, DPO Bahawalnagar, vide his

letter No. 1007/CC dated 23.4.2005,

informed that DSP Chistian after

conducting the enquiry in the matter had

reported that FIR No. 502/04 dated

1.12.2004 u/s 10(3) Offence of Zina

(Enforcement of Hudood) Ordinance,

1979, was registered at Police Station

Sadar, Chishtian. Lady Dr. Shahida

Parveen after examining the victim of the

alleged offence had reported that neither

“Zina Biljabar” nor unnatural offence was

committed with her. Thereupon, section

10(3) Offence of Zina (Enforcement of

Hudood) Ordinance, 1979, was substituted

with section 354 of PPC. Challan was

submitted to the court on 9.12.2004.

Chemical Examiner’s report dated

31.12.2004 was received on 17.2.2005,

whereafter section 354 PPC was again

substituted with section 10(3) Offence of

Zina (Enforcement of Hudood) Ordinance,

1979, and complete challan was

formulated. ASI Javed Iqbal Gondal had

completed investigation properly.

Additional District & Sessions Judge

acquitted the accused Muhammad

Siddique on 5.3.2005 because of

compromise between the parties. The

complainant had submitted application

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against Javed Iqbal Gondal, ASI, feeling

aggrieved for deleting section 10(3)

Offence of Zina (Enforcement of Hudood)

Ordinance, 1979, and challaning the

accused u/s 354 PPC. He had concluded

that the complaint was baseless and

allegations of receiving illegal

gratification by Javed Iqbal Gondal ASI

could not be proved.

The complaint was investigated by

this Office and ASI Javed Iqbal Gondal

heard in person. Record produced by him

was also examined. From the record

produced by him it was observed that:-

i) The alleged offence took place on 30.11.2004.

ii) FIR bearing No. 502/04 was registered on 1.12.2004 at Police Station Sadar Chishtian, District Bahawalnagar u/s 10(3) Offence of Zina (Enforcement of Hudood) Ordinance, 1979.

iii) After examining victim of the alleged offence (a 12/13 years girl) Woman Medical Officer of Tehsil HQ Hospital Chishtian Dr. Shahida Parveen issued a medical certificate stating that:

a) Mother of the girl (complainant in this case) stated in the presence of ASI Javed Iqbal Gondal, the history of unnatural

sexual offence (sodomy) committed with her daughter.

b) Bruise marks measuring 2”/3” present on both of breasts.

c) Rectal examination painful.

d) Blood samples and anal swabs sealed and sent for chemical examination to Assistant Chemical Examiner Multan and for DNA test to Center for Applied Molecular Biology, Lahore. Final opinion will be given after the arrival of chemical examination report from Multan and DNA test from Lahore.

iv) Without waiting for Chemical Examiner’s report ASI sent challan to the court, wherein section 10(3) Offence of Zina (Enforcement of Hudood) Ordinance, 1979, had been substituted with section 354 PPC.

v) Magistrate 1st Class Chishtian, in his order dated 24.1.2005 observed that apparently commission of offence of Zina u/s 10(3) Offence of Zina (Enforcement of Hudood) Ordinance, 1979, was made out from the facts placed on record. He, therefore, disagreeing with the police report, referred the case to the Sessions Court having exclusive jurisdiction in the case.

183

It has been found that ASI Javed

Iqbal Gondal and SHO have committed

gross maladministration because of the

following:-

i) Despite the fact that Woman Medical Officer’s medical examination report did not mention about non commission of offence of Zina, a statement to this effect was attributed to her and challan was submitted in the court u/s 354 PPC, instead of section 10(3) Offence of Zina (Enforcement of Hudood) Ordinance, 1979.

ii) Without waiting for report of the Chemical Examiner non conclusive challan reducing the gravity of the offence was submitted to the court.

It appears that to protect police

officials enquiry was not properly

conducted by DSP Chishtian. Enquiry

Officer indicated that Investigating

Officer, Javed Iqbal Gondal, ASI, had

investigated the case properly. The fact

that the complainant subsequently

compromised with the accused is not

relevant as far as maladministration

committed by the police officials is

concerned. Maladministration and

malafide of the police officials having

been established from the record

complaint was disposed of with the

directions:-

i) Strict disciplinary action be taken by the competent authority against ASI, Javed Iqbal Gondal, who investigated the case and SHO, who forwarded challan without attaching Chemical Examiner’s report which could have changed the conclusion drawn by the Investigating Officer.

ii) Provincial Police Officer Punjab should also take disciplinary action against DSP Chishtian, who attributed a wrong statement to Woman Medical Officer Dr. Shahida Parveen, indicating that she had not mentioned commission of offence of Zina or sodomy with the girl Sajida Parveen. It was clearly misstatement of DSP to cover up illegal act of his subordinate.

In compliance with the directions

by this Office, DPO, Bahawalnagar, vide

his letter No. 6864/PA dated 3.10.2005,

reported that as a consequence of

disciplinary proceedings against ASI,

Javed Iqbal Gondal, he had been awarded

major penalty of reduction in rank from

ASI to Head Constable. Vide his letter No.

7065/PA dated 25.10.2005, DPO

Bahawalnagar further intimated that

disciplinary proceedings against Inspector

Muhammad Nadeem Iqbal, SHO Police

Station Sadar, Chishtian had been initiated

and Mr. Shah Hussain SSP, Regional

Investigation, Bahawalpur Range was

184

appointed as Enquiry Officer. AIG (Legal)

on behalf of the Inspector General of

Police, Punjab vide his letter No.

7428/Legal dated 19.12.2005 informed

that disciplinary proceedings against

Akhtar Ali Khan, DSP Chishtian, had been

initiated and Mr. Muhammad Umar

Shaikh, DPO Bhawalpur, had been

appointed as Enquiry Officer. On

completion of these enquiries final

outcome is expected.

subject: REGISTRATION OF FORGED FIR

Complaint No. 9736/03-D-I-410/03

Mr. Liaqat Ali of District Gujrat

complained that on the night between

11/12-07/2002 dacoity was committed in

his house. Dacoits took away articles,

worth Rs.5 lac at gunpoint. For

registration of FIR, he contacted Police

Station Sadar Gujrat. SHO Police Station

Sadar Gujrat and staff were reluctant to

register FIR. After 15 days, Inspector

Mazhar Masood handed him over a copy

of FIR bearing No. 346/02 and informed

that Malik Muhammad Younis, ASI, had

been assigned to investigate the case.

Thereafter, he telephonically received

threats from the said police officials and

had to leave his house. After the said

police officials had been transferred, the

officiating SHO called him and informed

that FIR bearing No. 346/02 was

forged/fictitious. He on his own registered

FIR bearing No. 321/03. On the direction

of DPO Gujrat, DSP(HQ) Police

conducted enquiry wherein it was

established that FIR bearing No. 346/02

was really forged. Mazhar Masood

Inspector and Malik Muhammad Younis,

ASI, were found guilty. He alleged that

both the police officials who had

committed forgery were not penalized and

accused arrested in the case were released

by the police after obtaining illegal

gratification. He requested that his looted

articles be got recovered and action taken

against Mazhar Masood Inspector and

Malik Muhammad Younis ASI.

DPO, Gujrat reported on 19.4.2002

that Malik Muhammad Younis ASI was

awarded penalty of stoppage of one

increment for three years without

cumulative effect. DIG, Gujranwala Range

reported on 18.6.2004 that six accused in

this case were arrested. From each of the

four accused property worth Rs.1,000/-

was recovered and they were sent to

judicial custody. Another accused Nafees

arrested in this case was got discharged

having been found innocent. Accused

Bilal Ahmad, Iftikhar Ahmad and Shaqab

could not be arrested and were got

declared as proclaimed offenders. He

185

intimated on 14.9.2004 that after

completing enquiry, Mazhar Masood

Inspector was awarded penalty of

reduction in pay by two stages.

The complainant through his

rejoinder alleged that:-

i) Punishment awarded to M/S Mazhar Masood Inspector and Malik Muhammad Younis ASI for registering fictitious/forged FIR was not commensurate with the offence committed by them.

ii) FIR should have been registered u/s 392 PPC but it was registered u/s 458/380/109 PPC.

iii) His stolen property worth Rs.150,000/- was recovered by the police but was not brought on its record.

iv) Proper investigation in the criminal case had not been conducted because of political pressure.

During hearing of the case the

complainant and the agency through

Inspector (Investigation) Masood Ahmad

Bhatti. The complainant reiterated his

allegations and added that Muhammad

Nazir Sub Inspector, the then Moharrar

Police Station Sadar, Gujrat was the scribe

of forged FIR. He took the position that as

the police officials had committed forgery

in registering FIR of dacoity committed in

his house, a criminal case should be

registered against them in addition to

awarding punishment under disciplinary

rules commensurate with the

maladministration committed by them.

Masood Ahmad Bhatti Inspector

(Investigation) Gujrat while representing

the agency stated that District & Sessions

Judge, Gujrat had entrusted investigation

of the case to him. DPO Gujrat had

constituted a team of three inspectors

under his convenership for investigating

the case. He informed that 75%

investigation had been completed and

report would be submitted to the DPO

shortly. He also pointed out that criminal

case against Mazhar Masood Inspector and

Malik Muhammad Younis ASI was made

out for preparing forged FIR.

Investigation conducted by this

Office established gross maladministration

committed by Mazhar Masood Inspector,

Malik Muhammad Younis, ASI, for

registering forged FIR and other police

officials for not investigating the dacoity

case properly. Instead of registering a

criminal case against Mazhar Masood

Inspector and Malik Muhammad Younis

ASI, they were proceeded against

departmentally and awarded punishment

certainly not commensurate with the

maladministration committed by them.

District & Sessions Judge, Gujrat had to

intervene and entrust investigation to

186

Masood Ahmad Bhatti Inspector

(Investigation). The complaint was

disposed of with the directions:-

i) DPO, Gujrat should get a criminal case registered against Mazhar Masood, Inspector, and Malik Muhammad Younis, ASI. If Muhammad Nazir, Sub Inspector, the then Moharrar Police Station Sadar, Gujrat is found guilty of recording forged FIR, a criminal case should also be registered against him. SP(Investigation) Gujrat should investigate the case himself.

ii) As punishments awarded to Mazhar Masood Inspector/ SHO and Malik Muhammad Younis, ASI, were decidedly not commensurate with what they had done, Inspector General of Police, Punjab should examine the case with a view to awarding punishment commensurate with the gravity of offence committed by them.

iii) Contents of FIR No. 321/02, Police Station Sadar, Gujrat, attracted provisions of section 392 of PPC but the case was registered u/s 458/380 of PPC. Action be taken against the scribe of FIR for not mentioning the correct provisions of the law.

iv) Effecting recovery of stolen property worth Rs.1000/-

from each of the accused in case FIR No. 321/02 appeared to be unnatural and bogus. Matter to be enquired and action be taken against those found responsible.

In compliance with the directions

issued by this Office, Provincial Police

Officer Punjab reported on 6.10.2005 that:

i) A criminal case u/s 420, 468 and 471 PPC had been registered vide FIR No. 419 dated 29.6.2005 at Police Station, Civil Lines Gujrat, against Mazhar Masood Inspector (Former SHO Police Station Sadar, Gujrat), Muhammad Nazir, Sub Inspector and Malik Muhammad Younis ASI (since dismissed from service). Investigation of the case was being conducted by SP(Investigation) Gujrat.

ii) A show cause notice was issued to Muhammad Nazir, Sub Inspector (the then Moharrar Police Station Sadar, Gujrat). Finding him not guilty, departmental disciplinary proceedings were dropped by DPO Gujrat vide order dated 17.9.2005.

iii) Disciplinary proceedings had been initiated against Muhammad Pervaiz ASI/Investigating Officer in case registered vide FIR No. 321/02 for burking a crime and effecting unnatural and bogus recoveries.

187

POPULATION WELFARE

Subject: REQUEST FOR APPOINTMENT AGAINST RESERVED QUOTA SEAT

Complaint No. 5972/2004-A.S-355/04

Mr. Muhammad Ameer

complained that he applied for

appointment, against reserved quota seat

of 20% for employees in BS 1-4 on the

ground that her mother (who was an

employee of the Population Welfare

Department, Mianwali) was retired from

service on 30.12.1998 on medical grounds.

Although he was given assurance for

appointment against a post of Chowkidar

or Naib Qasid but he had not been

appointed.

The report of Agency dated

28.09.2004 stated that the complainant

could not be appointed due to confusion

about his parentage. Clarification was

sought from his mother. She informed that

her former husband namely Muhammad

Khalil had died and she contracted second

marriage with Mr. Muhammad Akbar. She

was asked to submit the requisite

documents, alongwith a copy of

computerized NIC. She was informed that

on receipt of the indicated documents, the

complainant would be recruited.

The Agency, vide report dated

11.12.2004 informed that Mr.Muhammad

Ameer S/o Muhammad Khalil

(complainant) had been appointed as

Chowkidar (BS-1) with effect from

04.11.2004 and had joined his duty. The

complainant, vide his written intimation

dated 19.01.2005, confirmed his

appointment.

The complaint was disposed of, on

11.02.2005, having borne fruit.

REGIONAL TRANSPORT AUTHORITY

Subject: ACTION FOR OVERCHARGING

Complaint No: 1715/4/05 C III 116/05

Muhammad Umar Chaudhry President Tehreek Falah, Shehr Chiniot complained on 19.04.2005 about overcharging of fare by buses and wagons in District Jhang. He requested that fare

tables may be got displayed in all public vehicles and action may be initiated against the defaulters.

On a direction from this Office, District Regional Transport Authority Jhang reported on 29.10.2005 that a large number of public transport vehicles were challaned for overcharging and not

188

displaying fare tables. Fare tables had been got affixed in all public transport vehicles plying in the district and also on conspicuous places of all bus stands.

Grievance of the complainant and the public was got redressed through intervention of this Office.

REVENUE

Subject: CONNIVANCE OF REVENUE OFFICIALS IN ILLEGAL OCCUPATION OF STATE LAND

Complaint No. C-5459/04 Adv-II 438/04

G.M.Awan in his complaint stated

that heirs of one Dost Muhammad

Chheena had been unlawfully occupying

state land in village Khai Khurd, Tehsil

Noor Pur Thal, District Khushab since

1976. They had been avoiding to pay any

penalty under the false pretext that a stay

order had been issued by a court in their

favour.

Executive District Officer

(Revenue) Khushab in comments filed on

16.2.2005 admitted that the state land

allotted to Dost Muhammad Chheena

against his claim was resumed. His writ

petition filed in the High Court was

rejected. The appeals filed by his legal

heirs were also dismissed but unlawful

occupants cultivated the land. Tawan was

imposed on them for only one crop i.e.

Rabi 2003 but on appeal, the recovery

proceedings were stopped by EDO(R)

Khushab. Files pertaining to illegal

cultivation of other crops were pending

with DDO(R) Noor Pur Thal.

After thorough investigation,

Executive District Officer (Revenue)

Khushab was directed on 7.4.2005 to

decide the appeal pending with him and to

ensure that cases Pertaining to illegal

cultivation were disposed of by DDO(R)

Noor Pur Thal within a month. Senior

Member, Board of Revenue, Punjab was

also asked to fix responsibility for failing

to impose and recover penalty on the

illegal cultivators and for not evicting the

unlawful occupants from the state land.

The Agency reported on 11.7.2005

that proceedings to recover Tawan had

been started and departmental proceeding

initiated against the delinquents.

Subject: ANTEDATED ATTESTATION OF MUTATION

Complaint No. 6279/04 C.VII 352/04

Inayat Ullah and Bashir Ahmad

complained that they had filed six lagan

189

suits against Sikandar Hayat and Inayat

Ullah etc. which were decreed in their

(complainants’) favour. Application,

alongwith details of properties owned by

the opposite party, was made to Malik

Muhammad Ashraf, Tehsildar Narowal for

execution of decrees. He issued warrants

of attachment of properties of the

respondents on 24.05.2003. Instead of

executing the decrees, mutation No. 687

was attested on 26.05.2003. The land

owners, in respect of whose property

attachment orders were issued, became

landless with the result that lagan amounts

decreed in the complainants’ favour could

not be recovered. They presented another

application to the Tehsildar informing that

mutation in question could not be attested

by him in the presence of attachment

orders duly issued by him, but he refused

to receive the application. He got

Rs.2000/- as illegal gratification from the

complainants but even then did not resolve

the issue. He prepared a fake reference

stating that status-quo order had been

received from the honourable High Court

and closed the case. Factually, the

impugned status-quo order issued by the

honourable High Court had no concern

with their case. The Tehsildar had

connived with the other party to cause

financial loss to them. They requested for

cancellation of the impugned mutation and

execution of decrees in their favour

Deputy District Officer (Rev.),

Narowal reported on 20.12.2004 that

Malik Muhammad Ashraf, former

Tehsildar Narowal, was placed under

suspension for absence from duty and

eventually retired from service with effect

from 04.12.2004. The allegations

contained in the complaint, were based on

facts as the Tehsildar was not competent to

attest the impugned mutation in the

presence of attachment orders and before

the execution of decrees.

This being a case of

maladministration on the part of Malik

Muhammad Ashraf, Tehsildar, Narowal

since retired from service, a direction was

issued to Senior Member, Board of

Revenue, Punjab for taking action against

him under rule 1.8 of the Pension Rules.

SUBJECT: BLOCKAGE OF PASSAGE TO RESIDENTIAL AREA

Complaint No.5890/08/04 C-IX 119/04

Syed Mazhar Hussain Shah of

Bhera, Tehsil Bhalwal, submitted on

26.8.2004, that 22 feet wide passage

leading to their residential Basti through

Government Inter College, Bhera had been

blocked by some private persons and the

190

staff of the college. The building for

Government College, Bhera was being

reconstructed and the Principal had

blocked their passage permanently by

constructing a wall. He requested that the

passage leading to their residential Basti

may be reopened and, if required, a gate

be installed for the college.

The matter was taken up with the Revenue Authorities and the Principal, Government College, Bhera. During investigation the parties presented their view points and revenue record was also examined. It transpired that the land, through which the passage was being claimed, actually belonged to Government College, Bhera. At site, the college was in occupation of less land than its actual ownership. The complaint was decided with following directions to DDO (Revenue), Bhalwal:-

i) DDO(R) should ensure that the college property is secured and no illegal passage is allowed through it.

ii) The remaining 25 kanal land belonging to the college should be demarcated, retrieved and handed over to the college.

iii) Area comprising 36 kanal, shown in the revenue record as owned by the college but in use for graveyard, Ahata Chah Mulla Rehan, passage and culverts etc., should be reapportioned on pro rata basis according to share of each

owner in the area and the balance area should also be handed over to the college.

The college land was, thus, saved

from illegal occupants and further

encroachment.

Subject: GRANT OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

Complaint No: 910/03/05 C-III 35/05

Mst. Parveen Akhtar requested on

03.03.2005 that an amount of

Rs.1,00,000/- was sanctioned in her favour

by the Government of Punjab/Relief

Commissioner on 26.1.2004, because her

house had collapsed due to heavy snow

fall in Murree, but it had not been paid to

her. She requested for a direction to the

Agency for payment of the said amount.

Assistant Director (Admn.) Relief Commissioner Board of Revenue Punjab, on a direction from this Office, issued on 13.5.05 a crossed cheque of Rs. 100,000/- in the name of the complainant which was delivered to the complainant by DCO Rawalpindi on 06.06.2005.

With the intervention of this Office, grievance of the complainant was got redressed.

Subject: IMPLEMENTATION OF COURT DECREE

Complaint No. 2469/05/05 C III 170/05

Riaz Hussain complained on 25.05.2005 that Commissioner Workmen

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Compensation (Labour Department) had issued a decree on 23.10.2004 for payment of Rs.49,476/- to him as commutation but it was not being implemented by EDO (R) Lahore.

The Agency replied through Tehsildar Lahore Cantt on 20.8.2005 that decretal amount of Rs.49,476/- had been recovered from Managing Director CAM Engineering (Pvt) Ltd. and the cheque delivered to the complainant on 12.10.2005.

With the intervention of this Office the decretal amount was got recovered and paid to the complainant.

Subject: ACTION UNDER SECTIONS 32 AND 34 OF THE COLONIZATION ACT

Complaint No. 1852/05-C-III-123/05

Muhammad Anwar, Secretary Administrative Committee, Masjid Noor-ul-Ibrar Meerak Sial, filed a complaint on 26.04.2005 stating that land measuring 2 kanals and 6 marlas, belonging to Eid Gah, had been unauthorizedly occupied by Ghulam Rasul etc. He requested local revenue authorities for retrieval of possession of land from unauthorized occupants by invoking provisions of sections 32 and 34 of the Colonization of Government Lands Act but no action was taken.

The Agency reported on 02.06.2005 that Tehsildar Shorkot was

directed to get the land vacated from unauthorized occupants under sections 32 and 34 of the Colonization of Government Lands Act. He removed the unauthorized occupants, and gave the crop under illegal cultivation on ‘superdari’ to the ‘Lambardar Deh’ on 03.08.2005.

On the intervention of this Office, unauthorized occupation of land belonging to the Eid Gah was got removed and land restored to the lawful owners.

Subject: CORRECTION OF REVENUE RECORD

Complaint No.5863/8/04 C.R.546/04

Mr. Fateh Muhammad submitted a complaint stating that in 1997 he purchased land in village 68/E.B. Tehsil Arifwala. He contacted the then Patwari Halqa (Muhammad Shafi) for transfer of the said land in his name. The Patwari demanded Rs.46,000 as illegal gratification. He paid a sum of Rs.43,500 to the Patwari and promised to pay the remaining amount after transfer of land in his name. Unfortunately, the Patwari while transferring the land in his name reduced his ownership by 8 kanals and 6 marlas in the revenue record. The discrepancy came to his notice after 5 years. He approached the Patwari halqa and DCO, Pakpattan for correction of the revenue record but to no avail. The complainant requested for a direction to the revenue authorities to make necessary correction in the revenue record.

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On taking up the matter with the Agency by this Office, Tehsildar Arifwala reported on 2.10.2004 that mutation No.696 was sanctioned in the name of the complainant transferring land measuring 41 kanals and 15 marlas, but while making entries of the said transfer in Register Haqdaran Zamin, ownership of the complainant was shown less by 8 kanals & 15 marlas because of clerical mistake. However, for correction of revenue record, the complainant had to approach the civil court.

During joint hearing of the case, it was observed that the then Patwari Halqa had intentionally made wrong entry in the Register Haqdaran Zameen and deprived the complainant of his rightful ownership of land measuring 8 kanals and 15 marlas. There is no provision in the land Revenue Act or Rules requiring intervention of Civil Court for rectification of a mistake termed as clerical. Therefore, the Revenue department was held responsible to take remedial action at its own level.

The representative of the Agency on 17.6.2005 submitted original Fard Badar No.14 and intimated that necessary correction in the record had been made. Certified copy of Fard Badar was handed over to the complainant who was satisfied with the action taken.

Although grievance of the complainant was redressed by the local

Revenue Authorities after about 8 years, yet no action was initiated against the delinquent official. The complaint was disposed of with a direction to EDO(Revenue), Pakpattan to proceed against Muhammad Shafi Patwari under the Punjab Removal from Service (Special powers) Ordinance, 2000.

In compliance, EDO(Revenue), Pakpattan initiated disciplinary proceedings against the delinquent Patwari under the Punjab Removal from Service (Special powers) Ordinance 2000.

Subject. CANCELLATION OF MUTATION FRAUDULENTLY SANCTIONED

Complaint No. 5872/7/03/C.V-110/03

Muhammad Yasin Khan in his

complaint stated that his real sister Mst.

Zohra Bibi widow of Ghulam Hussain

Khan, owner of agricultural land

measuring 53 kanals & 9 marlas in Chak

No.567/GB Tehsil Jaranwala District

Faisalabad, expired on 02.10.2001. M/S

Niaz Muhammad Khan, Muhammad Sadiq

Khan and others fraudulently got mutation

No.1203 dated 24.9.2001 of the said land

sanctioned in their favour with the

connivance of employees of the Revenue

Department. When he agitated the matter,

inheritance mutation No.1210 was

sanctioned in favour of the complainant on

22.10.2001.

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The complainant asserted that he

had earlier submitted an application to

Deputy Commissioner Faisalabad with a

copy to Assistant Commissioner Jaranwala

through registered post bearing No.755 &

756 dated 23.6.1998, expressing his

apprehension that the said land by way of

fraud would be transferred in favour of the

respondents. The complainant also

submitted certified copy of ‘Part Sarkar’

of sanctioned mutation No.1203 which he

had obtained on 1.4.2003 from the

Copying Agency of the office of Dy.

District Officer (Revenue) Jaranwala. The

complainant prayed that an enquiry may

be held in the matter and the respondents

may be proceeded against under the law.

Deputy District Officer

Revenue/Tehsil Collector Jaranwala in his

report stated that the Patwari had entered

mutation no.1203 in the presence of both

the parties. On the report of the Patwari,

mutation No.1203 was cancelled.

Thereafter, on the request of the

complainant, mutation No.1210 was

sanctioned in his favour on 22.01.2001. As

mutation No.1203 stood cancelled, the

Govt. has not sustained any loss.

Investigation of the case and

perusal of the relevant record revealed that

mutation No.1203 of oral sale was

sanctioned after Mst. Zohra Bibi’s death

and was antedated. It got support from the

fact that mutation fee amounting to

Rs.20,007/- was deposited in the National

Bank of Pakistan on 23.10.2001 vide

challan Form No.42.

After hearing the parties, the

following directions were issued to EDO

(Revenue) Faisalabad:-

“Ghulam Mustafa Patwari halqa, Bashir Ahmed Kanungo halqa and Mehmood Akhtar Naib Tehsildar/Revenue Officer halqa were involved in this case. Dafter Kanungo Tehsil office, Jaranwala and officials of his office, from where the ‘Part Sarkar’ had been removed and replaced were also involved. The Executive District Officer (Revenue) Faisalabad was directed to get a case registered against them with Anti-Corruption Establishment Zone Faisalabad. He was further directed to proceed against the aforementioned officials under the Punjab Removal from Service (Special Powers) Ordinance 2000 and to intimate result of the action taken to this office by 30.10.2004 at the latest.”

The respondents filed a

representation before the Governor,

Punjab which was rejected vide order

dated 17.11.05.

Thereafter, in compliance with the

directions, case FIR No. 124/2005 was

registered against Mian Muhammad

Akhtar, Naib Tehsildar and others at PS

ACE Faisalabad on 2.12.05. Investigation

in the case is in progress with the Anti-

Corruption Establishment.

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As regards action under the Punjab

Removal from Service (Special Powers)

Ordinance, after observing due procedure,

EDO (R) Faisalabad vide his orders dated

17.1.2005, decided the disciplinary

proceedings as follows:-

1) Imposed penalty of reduction to lower pay scale by one stage upon Ghulam Mustafa Patwari.

2) Imposed penalty of stoppage of two increments of Mian Mehmood Akhtar & Bashir Ahmad Kanungos.

3) Distt. Officer (R) Faisalabad vide his letter No. 251/SK dated 11.3.06 has intimated that Naib Tehsildar and other revenue officials were charge sheeted. As a result of enquiry, Office Kanungo Tehsil, Jaranwala and other staff were found not guilty.

SPECIAL EDUCATION

Subject: VIOLATION OF MERIT IN APPOINTMENT

Complaint No. 5329/7/04 C.R.523/04

Mr. Imtiaz Ahmad in his complaint

stated that his son Shahbaz Ahmad applied

to DEO(Special Education), Lahore for

appointment as chowkidar. Although his

son was at Sr.No.1 in the merit list but the

DEO in violation of merit, appointed

Tanveer Ahmed as chowkidar in

Government Institute for the Blind,

Sheranwala Gate, Lahore. After joining,

Tanveer Ahmad resigned, but the DEO

again, in violation of merit, appointed one

Kashif Farooq against the vacancy so

caused. However, the Principal of the

Institute did not allow Kashif Farooq to

join duty as he knew that complainant’s

son Shahbaz Ahmad had a right for

appointment. He requested the

Ombudsman Punjab for a direction to

DEO(Special Education), Lahore for

appointing his son as chowkidar.

District Education Officer (Special

Education) Lahore reported on 25.8.2004

that contention of the complainant that his

son was at Sr.No.1 in the merit list, was

incorrect. In fact, he was at Sr.No.7. Five

posts of chowkidars were advertised for

various institutions. Candidates were

interviewed and merit list was prepared by

the Selection Committee headed by

EDO(Education) Lahore. As Tanveer

Ahmad was at Sr.No.1 of the merit list,

and was appointed as chowkidar. Tanveer

Ahmad resigned from service on 16.6.04.

His resignation was accepted by the

Principal, being the competent authority

who requested DEO(Special Education) to

intimate name of the next candidate in the

merit list for appointment in place of

Tanveer Ahmed. Accordingly, name of the

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next candidate i.e. Kashif Farooq was

recommended for appointment but the

Principal did not issue his appointment

orders. The post, therefore, remained

vacant.

Joint hearing of the case was held.

Original record was also examined. It

transpired that the post was advertised

through Daily Nawa-e-Waqat. The

complainant’s son, alongwith others,

applied for the said post. Candidates were

interviewed and merit list was prepared by

the Selection Committee as per selection

criteria notified by S&GAD vide letter

No.SORIII-2-37/2002, dated 02.11.2002.

The complainant’s son Shahbaz Ahmad

was at Sr.No.7 in the merit list. After

resignation by Tanveer Ahmad, the post

was re-advertised. The complainant’s son

again applied and was interviewed but he

could not secure position on merit. Adnan

Rafique secured first position in merit and

was given the appointment. Adnan

Rafique joined the post and is working in

the Institute.

The contentions of the complainant

were found incorrect. The appointment of

Tanveer Ahmad was in order. Therefore,

no maladministration could be attributed

to the Agency. The complaint was filed.

UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION

Subject: PAYMENT OF OUTSTANDING BILLS

Complaint No. 6187.9/04/CV-317/04

Rashid Farooq complained that Provincial Institute of Teacher Education (PITE) Punjab, University of Education, Wahdat Colony, Lahore, floated a tender for Installation of Multimedia Equipment and Construction of Studio and Control Room. His company submitted tender which was accepted being the lowest. He completed the work within given time frame and completion letter was submitted on 14.2.04 to the Director (PITE). Thereafter, bills for payment of an amount of Rs.36,70,387/- were submitted but were

kept pending, despite repeated requests. The complainant requested that the agency be directed to make payment of his outstanding dues.

The matter was taken up and pursued with the University. While the case was under process, Mr. Rashid Farooq, complainant reported that cheque No.22857513 dated 18.12.2004 for an amount of Rs.22,50,000/- had been delivered to him. He confirmed that Vice Chancellor, University of Education, Lahore had paid him his total due amount and he was satisfied.

The complaint was disposed of as fructified.

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UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY, TAXILA

Subject: PAYMENT OF PENSIONARY CONTRIBUTION

Complaint No. 9488/11/03 D-III 637/03

Mr. Muhammad Afzal, in his complaint stated that while serving in the University of Engineering & Technology, Taxila, he applied through proper channel to the Federal Public Service Commission for a post of Assistant Librarian. The University authorities gave him an undertaking to relieve him in the event of his selection. On his selection, the University refused to relieve him, and asked him to resign if he was interested to join the new assignment. Having no other option, he resigned from service in the University and joined his new assignment in the Planning & Development Division, Islamabad. Later, his request for payment of pension contribution was rejected by UET, Taxila. He requested for a direction to the University for withdrawal/ cancellation of its letter dated 13.04.1994 about acceptance of his resignation, issue fresh order relieving him with effect from 13.04.1994 and payment of his pension contribution.

The matter was taken up with Registrar, UET, Taxila who vide report dated 13.12.2003, took the plea that application of the complainant was forwarded to the Federal Public Service Commission by the then Principal, University College of Engineering, Taxila

and not by UET. UET administration was therefore, not bound to relieve him. There was no provision for reconsideration of resignation, once it had been accepted and finalized by the competent authority. Pension contribution could also not be paid because by resigning from University service, the complainant’s past service stood forfeited. During hearing proceedings, it was noted that after establishment of UET, Taxila, all assets, rights and liabilities including employees of University College of Engineering & Technology, stood transferred to UET, Taxila, vide Order No. 23, dated 11.11.1993. The stance of UET, Taxila that complainant’s application was forwarded by the erstwhile College was found not in order. UET Taxila, being successor of the College, was under obligation to relieve him to join his new assignment in terms of footnote (ii) given on the memo signed and forwarded to FPSC by the competent authority. Vice Chancellor, UET, Taxila was

accordingly advised to withdraw letter

dated 13.04.1994 regarding acceptance of

complainant’s resignation, issue ex-post

facto order for relieving him to join new

assignment in Planning & Development

Division, Islamabad w.e.f. 13.04.1994 and

take all consequential actions regarding

payment of pensionary contribution in

respect of complainant’s past service.

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Registrar, UET, Taxila, finally intimated that letter dated 13.04.1994 about acceptance of complainant’s resignation had been withdrawn and ex-post facto order for relieving him w.e.f. 13.04.1994 had been issued. Remittance of

pension contribution for the past service had also been allowed.

Thus, with the intervention of this Office, more than 10 year old matter was resolved and grievance of the complainant was got redressed.

UNIVERSITY OF SARGODHA

Subject: REQUEST FOR GRANT OF SPECIAL PERMISSION TO APPEAR IN OPTIONAL PAPER

Complaint No. 6895/10/04 D-III 565/04

Mr. Shahid Waqar Anwar filed a complaint stating that he appeared in B.A. Annual Examinations, 2004 of the Sargodha University. He was declared successful on the basis of having cleared all compulsory and elective subjects, but he had failed in optional paper Arabic by securing 24/100 marks. He was placed in 3rd division, as 24 marks obtained in optional paper had not been added to the total marks secured by him in other papers, whereas 100 marks of optional paper were included in the total marks of the course, while determining his division. He was also not allowed to reappear as a compartment candidate to clear the optional paper on the plea that it was not admissible, because he had been declared pass in the examination. He requested that the University authorities be directed to allow him to reappear in the optional

paper, otherwise he would remain a third divisioner in B.A. throughout his life.

University of Sargodha vide its reports dated 27.01.2005 and 14.05.2005, submitted that as per rules a candidate failing in optional paper but passing in all other papers was declared as pass. His/her division was determined on the basis of total 800 marks (700+100 of optional paper) of the course, but marks obtained in failed optional paper were not added to the total marks secured by a candidate in other papers passed. Such a candidate was also not eligible to appear in failed optional subject as a compartment candidate.

During investigation, it was observed that rules/regulations regarding optional subjects were neither clear/specific nor just and fair. Sargodha University was directed to consider the following for improving/amending Regulations regarding optional papers:

a. for qualifying BA/BSC examination, a candidate may be required to also clear optional subject, or

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b. those failing in the optional subject may be allowed to re-appear in supplementary examination, or

c. for determining division on the basis of overall result, marks obtained in optional subject, though the candidate may have failed in it, be added to the marks obtained in compulsory and elective subjects for compiling total, or

d. if fail or pass result in optional subject has no bearing on qualifying BA/BSc examination, then division in result may be determined on the basis of marks secured in compulsory and elective subjects only and marks secured in optional subject may be mentioned separately in the degree/certificate.

Registrar, Sargodha University,

Sargodha, vide letter dated 09.07.2005

submitted compliance report to the effect

that the relevant Regulation had been

amended to provide for the following:

i) A candidate who fails in optional paper only shall be declared pass by counting marks secured by him in the subject and division shall be determined on the basis of total marks i.e., 800

ii) Such a candidate would also be eligible to reappear in optional paper within prescribed chances, if he so wishes, after getting his pass result card cancelled.

Accordingly, a special chance was granted to the complainant to reappear in optional paper as per prescribed chances.

Thus not only the grievance of the complainant was redressed on the intervention of this Office, but the relevant Regulation was also amended for providing relief to all candidates in future.

WASA LAHORE

Subject: REQUEST FOR CORRECTION OF WATER BILL

Complaint No. 6814/2004 A.S -388/04

Mr. Saleem Zia Agha of Motorway Police complained on 19.10.2004 about excessive water charges bill issued by WASA Lahore.

The report received from WASA stated that the bill for the period from

13.07.2004 to 13.09.2004 was issued in the light of actual reading of meter. The office building/premises was being used as hostel by 150 officials of Motorway Police consuming large quantity of water daily. On demand of the complainant, Agency installed a check meter on the water connection.

In the light of readings on the

original and the check meter, details of the

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case were discussed with the parties.

Representative of the Agency explained

that although no difference in the readings

of both the meters was found, yet it

transpired that the original/old meter

showed excessive reading during the

period in question due to some mechanical

fault.

After deliberations, the Agency

reduced the water charges bill on the basis

of average of previous year’s

consumption. The check meter was

retained and the old meter was removed.

The complainant expressed his satisfaction

on the action taken by the Agency. The

complaint was disposed of on 21.02.2005

as having borne fruit.

Subject: REQUEST FOR CORRECTION OF AREA OF PROPERTY, MENTIONED IN THE WATER CHARGES BILL

Complaint No. 7404-12/04 A.S -414/04

Mst. Rubina Khanum submitted a complaint on 06.12.2004 stating that a water connection was got from WASA Lahore at their 10 marla property by her father-in-law. After his death, the property was divided amongst his four sons, 2½ marlas each. The other three sons/share holders had obtained separate water connections. WASA Lahore had sent her an excessive bill, based on 10 marla area of the property as per previous record,

whereas actual area of her share in the property was 2½ marlas. No action was taken by WASA Lahore on her applications submitted for correction of water charges bill. Instead, WASA officials tried to disconnect water supply but on intervention of the residents of the area, she was allowed to make payment upto 05.12.2004. She was ready to pay bill on the basis of 2½ marla area of the property but it was not possible for her to make payment of the excessive bill.

Report of the Agency dated 01.01.2004 stated that unmetered domestic connection of the complainant had been converted into “metered”, as per policy. However, on taking up matter with WASA by this Office, verification of the area of property was done at site and a revised bill for Rs.760/- (due upto 22.12.2004), on the basis of 2½ marla area of the property was sent to the complainant.

The complainant, vide her written statement dated 26.01.2005, intimated that she had paid the revised/reduced bill on 08.01.2005. She requested that her complaint may be filed because grievance stood redressed. The complaint was accordingly disposed of on 03.02.2005.

Subject: REMOVAL OF SEWER BLOCKAGE

Complaint No: C- 411/05-18/05(C-I)

Muhammad Ashraf complained that despite submission of applications, SDO, WASA, Gujranwala did not clear

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blockage of four gutters situated on the main road Girjakh, Gujranwala. Two employees of the Agency visited the site but went back without doing the needful. He requested that the agency may be directed to solve the problem faced by residents of the area.

The matter was taken up with Assistant Director (Engineering-III), GDA, Gujranwala who reported that blockage of the sewerage line had been removed and it was made operational again.

The complainant filed rejoinder expressing his satisfaction over the work carried out by the Agency on the intervention of the Office of the Ombudsman Punjab.

Subject: ISSUANCE OF REVISED BILL

Complaint No. C- 534/05-22/05(C-I)

Sain Ahmed complained on

8.2.2005 that he purchased property

No.993, China Scheme Lahore, with an

area of 2 ½ marlas. He was being charged

excessively for supply of water for the last

two years. He submitted two applications

for reduction in the bills but no action was

taken. He requested that the authority

concerned be directed to issue revised bill

based on the actual data.

The complaint was taken up with

Deputy Director Revenue (RT), WASA,

Lahore. He reported on 17.3.2005 that

during survey it was noticed that the

complainant was availing water and sewer

facilities illegally. The connection was

required to be regularized under the

prevailing policy.

He was offered to get a meter

installed at his residence, whereafter,

arrears would be recalculated according to

average of water consumption based on

the meter reading. The complainant

accepted Agency’s offer and water charges

bill was accordingly corrected. With the

intervention of this Office, the grievance

of the complainant was redressed.

Subject: OVER FLOW OF SEWERAGE

Complaint No. C-5012/10/05/C-I-431/05

Suo Moto action was initiated on a

news item published in the daily Khabrain

Lahore dated 19.10.2005 that sewerage

line of street No.18 Wassanpura, Chowk

Nakhuda and its adjacent streets was

blocked. Waste water had accumulated

there causing great inconvenience to

inhabitants of the locality. It was also

reported that the telephone of Complaint

Office WASA, LDA, Lahore often

remained out of order and a report, if at

all, registered remained generally

unattended. It was demanded that the

blockage be got removed immediately and

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the delinquent officials of WASA, LDA,

Lahore be proceeded against in accordance

with the law.

The site was inspected on the same

day by Consultant-I of the Ombudsman

Office. He found the contents of the news

item correct as per position on ground. On

Ombudsman’s direction, XEN (O&M-

II),(RT) WASA, LDA, Lahore and SDO,

Shadbagh, removed the blockage of

sewerage in streets No.18 and 19,

Wassanpura Chowk Nakhuda. However,

telephone of Complaint Office WASA was

found in order. It was directed that the

Director concerned should take all steps to

keep the telephone in order and a

complaint when received in future should

be registered in the Complaint Book and

attended to promptly. It was also directed

that solid waste removed from the

sewerage line be immediately shifted from

the site.

On the intervention of the Office of

the Ombudsman, sanitation problem

affecting residents of the locality was

solved improving hygienic conditions

there.

Subject: WRONG BILLING

Complaint No. M/261/05. C-I

Muhammad Arif Shajra R/o House

No.903-B/A, Ali Street, Mehmood

Colony, Khanewal Road, Multan

complained on 17.2.2005 that WASA,

Multan was sending two bills of water

charges to him, whereas he had no water

connection from WASA Multan. He had

let out a portion of his house and was

paying sewerage charges under account

No. 015-B/0065A. He requested for a

direction to the Agency to withdraw illegal

bills and to issue bill of sewerage only.

The Agency in its report dated 9.3.2005 explained that the bills had been correctly issued.

To verify the facts, site was inspected by the Investigating Officer from the Regional Office, Multan. During investigation, it was observed that there was no water connection in the house of the complainant and the Agency had been sending wrong bills of water charges to him. The Agency was directed to withdraw wrong bills and take action under E&D Rules against the concerned employees, who had been misleading their officers and subjecting the complainant to mental agony.

In compliance with the direction, the competent authority in WASA Multan initiated proceedings against the delinquent Circle Incharge WASA, under the Punjab Removal from Service (Special powers) Ordinance 2000. Wrong water charges bills were also withdrawn/ corrected

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The complainant’s grievance was redressed on the Ombudsman’s direction.

Subject: REQUEST FOR REFUND OF SANITATION FEE AND CORRECTION OF AREA ON WATER BILL

Complaint No. 6396/04 A.S-374/04

Mr. Muhammad Rafi Awan in his complaint alleged that by showing area of his property more than the actual, WASA Lahore was charging excessive water bills from him. He also stated that sanitation fee was also being recovered without providing the facility. He requested for refund of sanitation fee and correction of the area of his property for recovering water charges.

District Government, Lahore, reported that water connection of the complainant had been converted into “metered connection” on account of area of the property. On production of copy of sale deed/documentary proof, the area of

the property would be corrected on the bill. Regarding sanitation fee it was submitted that as Mohallah Sabir Town, Mehmood Shaheed Road, Shahdra, did not fall in the jurisdiction of City District Government Lahore, sanitation fee would be deleted from the bill of the complainant and any amount recovered on this account would be refunded/adjusted in his future bills.

The agency reported that on the direction of this Office to WASA Lahore complainant’s water bill was corrected as per area of the property stated in the sale deed. The sanitation fee, since recovered, was adjusted and a credit bill was issued to the complainant.

EDO (Revenue), Lahore and WASA Lahore were also directed to stop recovery of sanitation fee from any household located outside the territorial jurisdiction of Lahore City District Government, which has levied the fee in question.

CHAPTER-X

APPENDICES Pages

1. The Punjab Office of the Ombudsman Act 1997 (Act X of 1997). 203

2. Ombudsman for the Province of Punjab (Registration, Investigation and Disposal of Complaints) Regulations, 2005. 216

3. Governor’s Secretariat Punjab letter No.PSG-2/2005-AS-II dated 6 May, 2005 regarding implementation of recommendations made by the Ombudsman. 231

4. S&GAD letter No.SO.CAB-I/10-3/2005 dated 17 October, 2005 regarding Annual Report 2004. 232

5. S&GAD letter No.SO.CAB-I/2-1/97 (Part-II) dated 19 September, 2005 regarding nomination of Principal Officers. 233

6. List of Principal Officers nominated by different Government Departments. 234

7. List of Abbreviations. 243

203

EXTRAORDINARY ISSUE REGISTERED NO. L-7532

The Punjab Gazette PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY

LAHORE TUESDAY JULY 01, 1997

PROVINCIAL ASSEMBLY OF THE PUNJAB N O T I F I C A T I O N

JUNE 30, 1997

No.Legis-2(5)/97/88. The Punjab Office of the Ombudsman Bill 1997, having been passed by the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab on June 25, 1997 and assented to by the Governor of the Punjab on June 27, 1997, is hereby published as an Act of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab.

THE PUNJAB OFFICE OF THE OMBUDSMAN ACT 1997 Act X of 1997

[First published, after having received the assent of the Governor of the Punjab, in the Gazette of the Punjab (Extraordinary) dated June 30, 1997]

An Act

to provide for the establishment of the office of Ombudsman in the Province of the Punjab.

Preamble.--- WHEREAS it is expedient to provide for the appointment of the Provincial Ombudsman for protection of the rights of the people, ensuring adherence to the rule of law, diagnosing, redressing and rectifying any injustice done to a person through maladministration and suppressing corrupt practices.

It is hereby enacted as follows:- 1. Short title, extent and commencement

1) This Act may be called the Punjab Office of the Ombudsman Act 1997. 2) It extends to the Province of the Punjab. 3) It shall come into force at once.

2. Definitions In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context - 1) “Agency” means a Department, Commission or office of the Provincial

Government or a statutory corporation or other institution established or controlled by the Provincial Government but does not include the High Court and courts working under the supervision and control of the High Court, and the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab and its Secretariat.

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2) “maladministration” includes:- i) a decision, process, recommendation, act or omission or commission which:-

a) is contrary to law, rules or regulations or is a departure from established practice or procedure, unless it is bonafide and for valid reasons; or

b) is perverse, arbitrary or unreasonable, unjust biased, oppressive, or discriminatory ; or

c) is based on irrelevant grounds ; or d) involves the exercise of powers or the failure or refusal to do so, for

corrupt or improper motives, such as, bribery, jobbery, favouritism, nepotism and administrative excesses; and

ii) neglect, inattention, delay, incompetence, inefficiency and ineptitude, in the administration or discharge of duties and responsibilities;

3) “Office” means the office of the Ombudsman; 4) “Ombudsman” means the Ombudsman for the Province of Punjab appointed

under section 3; 5) “Prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act; 6) “Public servant” means a public servant as defined in section 21 of the

Pakistan Penal Code 1860, and includes a Minister, Advisor, Parliamentary Secretary and the Chief Executive, Director or other officer or employee or member of an Agency ; and

7) “Staff” means any employee or commissioner of the Office and includes co-opted members of the staff, consultants, advisors, bailiffs, liaison officers and experts.

3. Appointment of Ombudsman 1) There shall be an Ombudsman, for the Province of Punjab who shall be

appointed by the Government. 2) An Ombudsman shall be a person who is, or has been or is qualified to be a

judge of the High Court or any other *1 person of known integrity. 3) Before entering upon office, the Ombudsman shall take an oath before the

Governor in the form set out in the First Schedule to this Act. 4) The Ombudsman shall, in all matters, perform his functions and exercise his

powers fairly, honestly, diligently and independently of the Executive and all executive authorities throughout the Province shall act in aid of the Ombudsman.

4. Tenure of the Ombudsman 1) The Ombudsman shall hold office for a period of four *2 years and shall not be

eligible for any extension of tenure or for re-appointment as Ombudsman under any circumstances: Provided that a sitting Judge of the High Court working as Ombudsman may be called back by the competent authority before expiry of his tenure.*3

2) The Ombudsman may resign his office by writing under his hand addressed to the Governor.

1. Amended Vide the Punjab Office of the Ombudsman (Amendment) Act 2003 (Act III of 2003) 2. Amended Vide the Punjab Office of the Ombudsman (Amendment) Act 2003 (Act III of 2003) 3. Amended Vide the Punjab Office of the Ombudsman (Amendment) Act 2003 (Act III of 2003)

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5. Ombudsman not to hold any other office of profit, etc. 1) The Ombudsman shall not

a) hold any other office of profit in the service of Pakistan; or b) occupy any other position carrying the right to remuneration for the

rendering of services. 2) The Ombudsman, not being a sitting Judge of the High Court*4 shall not hold

any office of profit in the service of Pakistan*5 before the expiration of two years after he has ceased to hold that office nor shall he be eligible during the tenure of office and for a period of two years thereafter for election as a member of Parliament or a Provincial Assembly or any local body or take part in any political activity.

6. Terms and conditions of service and remuneration of Ombudsman 1) The Ombudsman shall be entitled to such salary, allowances and privileges

and other terms and conditions of service as the Government may determine and these terms shall not be varied during the term of office of an Ombudsman.

2) The Ombudsman may be removed from office by the Government on the ground misconduct or of being incapable of properly performing the duties of his office by reason of physical or mental incapacity. The Government shall provide the Ombudsman a copy of charges before such an order.

Provided that the Ombudsman, may, if he sees fit and appropriate to refute any charges, request an open public evidentiary hearing before a Division Bench of the High Court and if such hearing is not held within thirty days from the date of the receipt of such request or not concluded within ninety days of its receipt, the Ombudsman will be absolved of all stigma. In such circumstances, the Ombudsman may choose to leave his office and shall be entitled to receive full remuneration and benefits for the rest of his term.

3) If the Ombudsman makes a request under the proviso to sub-section (2), he shall not perform his functions under this Act until the hearing before the High Court has concluded.

4) An Ombudsman removed from office on the ground of misconduct shall not be eligible to hold any office of profit in the service of Pakistan or for election as a member of Parliament or a Provincial Assembly or any local body, unless a period of four years has elapsed since his dismissal.

7. Acting Ombudsman At any time when the office of Ombudsman is vacant, or the Ombudsman is absent or

is unable to perform his functions due to any cause, the Government shall appoint an acting Ombudsman. 8. Appointment and terms and conditions of service of staff

(1) The members of the staff, other than those mentioned in section 20 or those of a class specified by the Government by order in writing shall be appointed by the Government in consultation with the Ombudsman.

4. Amended Vide the Punjab Office of the Ombudsman (Amendment) Act 2003 (Act III of 2003) 5. Amended Vide the Punjab Office of the Ombudsman (Amendment) Act 2003 (Act III of 2003)

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(2) It shall not be necessary to consult the Provincial Public Service Commission for making appointment of the members of the staff or on matters relating to qualifications for such appointment and method of their recruitment.

(3) The members of the staff shall be entitled to such salary, allowances and other terms and conditions of service as may be prescribed having regard to salary, allowances and other terms and conditions of service that may for the time being be admissible to other employees of the Provincial Government in the corresponding Basic Pay Scale.

(4) Before entering upon office a member of the staff mentioned in subsection (1) shall take an Oath before the Ombudsman in the form set out in the Second Schedule to this Act.

9. Jurisdiction, functions and powers of the Ombudsman (1) The Ombudsman may on a complaint by any aggrieved person, on a reference

by the Government or the Provincial Assembly, or on a motion of the Supreme Court or the High Court made during the course of any proceedings before it or of his own motion, undertake any investigation into any allegation of maladministration on the part of any Agency or any of its officers or employees:

Provided that the Ombudsman shall not have any jurisdiction to investigate or inquire into any matters which:- (a) are subjudice before a Court of competent jurisdiction on the date of

the receipt of a complaint, reference or motion by him or (b) relate to the external affairs of Pakistan or the relations or dealings of

Pakistan with any foreign state or Government; or (c) relate to, or are connected with, the defence of Pakistan or any part

thereof, the Military, Naval and Air Forces of Pakistan, or the matters covered by the laws relating to those forces.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in subsection (1), the Ombudsman shall not entertain for investigation any complaint by or on behalf of a public servant or functionary concerning any matters relating to the Agency in which he is, or has been, working, in respect of any personal grievance relating to his service therein.

(3) For carrying out the objectives of this Act and, in particular for ascertaining the root causes of corrupt practices and injustice, the Ombudsman may arrange for studies to be made or research to be conducted and may recommend appropriate steps for their eradication.

10. Procedure and evidence (1) A complaint shall be made on solemn affirmation or oath and in writing

addressed to the Ombudsman by the person aggrieved or, in the case of his death, by the legal representative and may be lodged in person at the Office or handed over to the Ombudsman in person or sent by any other means of communication to the Office.

(2) No anonymous or pseudonymous complaints shall be entertained. (3) A complaint shall be made not later than three months from the day on which

the person aggrieved first had the notice of the matter alleged in the complaint, but the Ombudsman may conduct, any investigation pursuant to a

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complaint which is not within time if he considers that there are special circumstances which made it proper for him to do so.

(4) Where the Ombudsman proposes to conduct an investigation he shall issue to the principal officer of the Agency concerned, and to any other person who is alleged in the complaint to have taken or authorized the action complained of, a notice calling upon him to meet the allegations contained in the complaint, including rebuttal: "Provided that the Ombudsman may proceed with the investigation if no response to the notice is received by him from such principal officer or other person within thirty days of the receipt of the notice or within such longer period as may have been allowed by the Ombudsman."

(5) Every investigation shall be conducted informally but, the Ombudsman may adopt such procedure as he considers appropriate for such investigation and he may obtain information from such persons and in such manner and make such inquiries as he thinks fit.

(6) A person shall be entitled to appear in person or be represented before the Ombudsman.

(7) The Ombudsman shall, in accordance with the rules made under this Act pay expenses and allowances to any person who attends or furnishes information for the purposes of an investigation.

(8) The conduct of an investigation shall not affect any action taken by the Agency concerned, or any power or duty of that Agency to take further action with respect to any matter subject to the investigation.

(9) For the purpose of an investigation under this Act the Ombudsman may require any officer or member of the Agency concerned to furnish any information or to produce any document which in the opinion of the Ombudsman is relevant and helpful in the conduct of the investigation and there shall be no obligation to maintain secrecy in respect of disclosure of any information or document for the purposes of such investigation: Provided that the Government may, in its discretion, on grounds of its being a State secret, allow a claim of privilege with respect to any information or document.

(10) In any case where the Ombudsman decides not to conduct an investigation, he shall send to the complainant a statement of his reasons for not conducting the investigation.

(11) Save as otherwise provided in this Act, the Ombudsman shall regulate the procedure for the conduct of business or the exercise of powers under this Act.

11. Recommendations for implementation (1) If, after having considered a matter on his own motion, or on a complaint or

on a reference by the Government or the Provincial Assembly, or on a motion by the Supreme Court or the High Court, as the case may be, the Ombudsman is of the opinion that the matter considered amounts to maladministration, he shall communicate his finding to the Agency concerned:

(a) to consider the matter further;

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(b) to modify or cancel the decision, process, recommendation, act or omission;

(c) to explain more fully the act or decision in question; (d) to take disciplinary action against any public servant of any Agency

under the relevant laws applicable to him; (e) to dispose of the matter or case within a specified time; and (f) to take any other steps specified by the Ombudsman.

(2) The Agency shall, within such time as may be specified by the Ombudsman, inform him about the action taken on his direction or the reasons for not complying with the same.

(3) In any case where the Ombudsman has considered a matter, or conducted an investigation, on a complaint or on reference by the Government or the Provincial Assembly or on a motion by the Supreme Court or the High Court, the Ombudsman shall forward a copy of the communication received by him from the Agency in pursuance of sub-section (2) to the complainant or, as the case may be, the Government, the Provincial Assembly, the Supreme Court or the High Court.

(4) If, after conducting an investigation, it appears to the Ombudsman that an injustice has been caused to the person aggrieved in consequence of maladministration and that the injustice has not been or will not be remedied, he may, if he thinks fit, lay a special report on the case before the Government.

(5) If the Agency concerned does not comply with the recommendations of the Ombudsman or does not give reasons to the satisfaction of the Ombudsman for non-compliance, it shall be treated as “Defiance of Recommendations” and shall be dealt with as hereinafter provided.

12. Defiance of recommendations (1) If there is a ‘Defiance of recommendations’ by any public servant in any

Agency with regard to the implementation of a recommendation given by the Ombudsman, the Ombudsman may refer the matter to the Government which may, in its discretion, direct the Agency to implement the recommendation and inform the Ombudsman accordingly.

(2) In each instance of “Defiance of Recommendations” a report by the Ombudsman shall become a part of the personal file or character roll of the public servant primarily responsible for the defiance;

Provided that the public servant concerned had been granted an opportunity to be heard in the matter.

13. Reference by Ombudsman Where, during or after an inspection or an investigation, the Ombudsman is satisfied

that any person is guilty of any allegations as referred to in subsection (1) of section 9, the Ombudsman may refer the case to the concerned authority for appropriate corrective or disciplinary action, or both and the said authority shall inform the Ombudsman within thirty days of the receipt of reference of the action taken. If no information is received within this period, the Ombudsman may bring the matter to the notice of the Government for such action as he may deem fit.

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14. Powers of the Ombudsman (1) The Ombudsman shall, for the purposes of this Act have the same powers as

are vested in a Civil Court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, in respect of the following matters, namely:-

(a) summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him on oath ;

(b) compelling the production of documents; (c) receiving evidence on affidavits; and

(d) issuing commission for the examination of witnesses. (2) The Ombudsman shall have the power to require any person to furnish

information on such points or matters as, in the opinion of the Ombudsman, may be useful for, or relevant to, the subject-matter of any inspection or investigation.

(3) The powers referred to in subsection (1) may be exercised by the Ombudsman or any person authorized in writing by the Ombudsman in this behalf while carrying out an inspection or investigation under the provisions of this Act.

(4) Where the Ombudsman finds the complaint referred to in sub-section (1) section 9 to be false, frivolous or vexatious, he may award reasonable compensation to the Agency, public servant or other functionary against whom the complaint was made; and the amount of such compensation shall be recoverable from the complainant as arrears of land revenue: Provided that the award of compensation under this subsection shall not debar the aggrieved person from seeking any other remedy.

(5) If any Agency, public or other functionary fails to comply with a direction of the Ombudsman, he may, in addition to taking other actions under this Act, refer the matter to the appropriate authority for taking disciplinary action against the person who disregarded the direction of the Ombudsman.

(6) If the Ombudsman has reason to believe that any public servant or other functionary has acted in a manner warranting criminal or disciplinary proceedings against him, he may refer the matter to the appropriate authority for necessary action to be taken within the time specified by the Ombudsman.

(7) The staff and the nominees of the Office may be commissioned by the Ombudsman to administer oaths for the purposes of this Act and to attest various affidavits, affirmations or declarations which shall be admitted in evidence in all proceedings under this Act without proof of the signature or seal or official character of such person.

15. Power to enter and search any premises (1) The Ombudsman, or any member of the staff authorised in this behalf, may,

for the purpose of making any inspection or investigation, enter any premises where the Ombudsman or, as the case may be, such member has reason to believe that any article, books of accounts, or any other documents relating to the subject-matter of inspection or investigation may be found, and may - (a) search such premises and inspect any article, books of accounts or

other documents; (b) take extracts or copies of such books of accounts and documents;

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(c) impound or seal such articles, books of accounts and documents; and (d) make an inventory of such articles, books of account and other

documents found in such premises. (2) all searches made under subsection (1) shall be carried out mutatis mutandis,

in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898. 16. Power to punish for contempt

(1) The Ombudsman shall have the same powers, mutatis mutandis, as the High Court has to punish any person for its contempt who:- (a) abuses, interferes with, impedes, imperils, or obstructs the process of

the Ombudsman in any way or disobeys any order of the Ombudsman; (b) scandalises the Ombudsman or otherwise does anything which tends

to bring the Ombudsman, his staff or nominees or any person authorised by the Ombudsman in relation to his office, into hatred, ridicule or contempt.

(c) does anything which tends to prejudice the determination of a matter pending before the Ombudsman; or

(d) does any other thing which, by any other law, constitutes contempt of Court.

Provided that fair comments made in good faith and in public interest on the working of the Ombudsman or any of his staff, or on the final report of the Ombudsman after the completion of the investigation shall not constitute contempt of the Ombudsman or his Office.

(2) any person sentenced under subsection (1) may, notwithstanding anything herein contained, within thirty days on the passing of the order, appeal to the High Court.

17. Inspection Team (1) The Ombudsman may constitute an Inspection Team for the performance of

any of the functions of the Ombudsman. (2) An Inspection Team shall consist of one or more members of the staff and

shall be assisted by such other person or persons as the Ombudsman may consider necessary.

(3) An Inspection Team shall exercise such of the powers of the Ombudsman as he may specify by order in writing and every report of the Inspection Team shall first be submitted to the Ombudsman with its recommendations for appropriate action.

18. Standing Committees, etc. The Ombudsman may, whenever he thinks fit, establish standing or advisory

committees at specified places, with specified jurisdiction for performing such functions of the Ombudsman as are assigned to them from time to time and every report of such committee shall first be submitted to the Ombudsman with its recommendations for appropriate action. 19. Delegation of powers

The Ombudsman may, by order in writing, delegate such of his powers as may be specified in the order, to any member of his staff or to a standing or advisory committee, to be exercised subject to such conditions as may be specified and every report of such member or committee shall first be submitted to the Ombudsman with his or its recommendations for appropriate action.

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20. Appointment of advisers, etc.

The Ombudsman may appoint competent persons of integrity as advisors, consultants, fellows, bailiffs, interns, commissioners and experts as well as ministerial staff with or without remuneration to assist him in the discharge of his duties under this Act.

21. Authorization of functionaries, etc.

The Ombudsman may, if he considers it expedient, authorise a District Judge or any agency, public servant or other functionary working under the administrative control of the Provincial Government to undertake the functions of the Ombudsman under subsection (1) or subsection (2) of section 14 in respect of any matter falling within his jurisdiction and it shall be the duty of the Agency, public servant or other functionary so authorised to undertake such functions to such extent and subject to such conditions as the Ombudsman may specify.

22. Award of costs and compensation and refund of amounts

(1) The Ombudsman may, where he deems necessary, call upon a public servant, other functionary or any Agency to show cause why compensation be not awarded to an aggrieved party for any loss or damage suffered by him on account of any maladministration committed by such public servant, other functionary or Agency, and after considering the explanation, and hearing such public servant, other functionary or Agency, award reasonable costs or compensation and the same shall be recoverable as arrears of land revenue from the public servant, functionary or Agency.

(2) In cases involving payment of illegal gratification to any employee of any Agency, or to any other person on his behalf, or misappropriation, criminal breach of trust or cheating, the Ombudsman may order the payment thereof for credit to the Government or pass such other order as he may deem fit.

(3) An order made under subsection (2) against any person shall not absolve such person of any liability under any other law.

23. Assistance and advice to Ombudsman

(1) The Ombudsman may seek the assistance of any person or authority for the performance of his functions under this Act.

(2) All officers of any Agency and any person whose assistance has been sought by the Ombudsman in the performance of his functions shall render such assistance to the extent it is within their power or capacity.

(3) No statement made by a person or authority in the course of giving evidence before the Ombudsman or his staff shall subject him to, or be used against him in any civil or criminal proceedings except for prosecution of such person for giving false evidence.

24. Conduct of business

(1) The Ombudsman shall be the Chief Executive of the Office.

(2) The Ombudsman shall be the Principal Accounts Officer of the Office in respect of the expenditure incurred against budget grant or grants controlled by the Ombudsman and shall, for this purpose, exercise all the financial and administrative powers delegated to an Administrative Department.

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25. Requirement of affidavits (1) The Ombudsman may require any complainant or any party connected or

concerned with a complaint, or with any inquiry or reference to submit affidavits attested or notarized before any competent authority in that behalf within the time prescribed by the Ombudsman or his staff.

(2) The Ombudsman may take evidence without technicalities and may also require complainants or witnesses to take lie detection tests to examine their veracity and credibility and draw such inferences that are reasonable in all circumstances of the case especially when a person refuses, without reasonable justification, to submit to such tests.

26. Remuneration of advisors consultants, etc. (1) The Ombudsman may, in his discretion, fix an honorarium or remuneration for

advisor, consultants, experts and interns engaged by him from time to time for the services rendered.

(2) The Ombudsman may, in his discretion fix a reward or remuneration to any person for exceptional services rendered, or valuable assistance given, to the Ombudsman in carrying out his functions:

Provided that the Ombudsman shall withhold the identity of that person, if so requested by the person concerned, and take steps to provide due protection under the law to such person against harassment, victimization, retribution, reprisals of retaliation. 27. Ombudsman and staff to be public servants

The Ombudsman, the employees, officers and all other staff of the Office shall be deemed to be public servant within the meaning of section 21 of the Pakistan Penal Code, 1860.

28. Annual and other reports

(1) Within three months of the conclusion of the calendar year to which the report pertains, the Ombudsman shall submit an Annual Report to the Governor.

(2) Simultaneously, such reports shall be released by the Ombudsman for publication and copies thereof shall be provided to the public at reasonable cost.

(3) The Ombudsman may also, from time to time, make public any of his studies, research, conclusions, recommendations, ideas or suggestions in respect of any matters being dealt with by the Office.

(4) The report and other documents mentioned in this section shall be placed before the Provincial Assembly as early as possible.

29. Bar of jurisdiction

No Court or other authority shall have jurisdiction

(i) to question the validity of any action taken, or intended to be taken, or order made, or anything done or purporting to have been taken, made or done under this Act ; or

(ii) to grant an injunction or stay or to make any interim order in relation to any proceeding before, or anything done or intended to be done or purporting to have been done by, or under the orders or at the instance of the Ombudsman.

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30. Immunity

No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie against the Ombudsman, his staff, Inspection Team, nominees, members of a standing or advisory committee or any person authorised by the Ombudsman for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done under this Act.

31. Reference by the Government

(1) The Government may refer any matter, report or complaint for investigation and independent recommendations by the Ombudsman.

(2) The Ombudsman shall promptly investigate any such matter report or complaint and submit his findings or opinion within a reasonable time.

(3) The Government, may, by notification in the Official Gazette, exclude specified matters, from the operation of any of provisions of this Act.

32. Representation to Governor Any person aggrieved by a decision or order of the Ombudsman may, within thirty

days of the decision or order, make a representation to the Governor, who may pass such order thereon as he may deem fit.

33. Informal resolution of disputes (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, the Ombudsman and a

member of the staff shall have the authority to informally conciliate, amicably resolve, stipulate, settle or ameliorate any grievance without written memorandum and without the necessity of docketing any complaint or issuing any official notice.

(2) The Ombudsman may appoint for purposes of liaison counselors, whether honorary or otherwise, at local level on such terms and conditions as the Ombudsman may deem proper.

34. Service of process (1) For the purposes of this Act, a written process or communication from the

Office shall be deemed to have been duly served upon a respondent or any other person by, inter alia, any one or more of the following methods, namely :- (i) by service in person through any employee of the Office or by any

special process-server appointed in the name of the Ombudsman by any authorized staff of the Office, or any other person authorised in this behalf;

(ii) by depositing in any mail box posting in any Post Office a postage prepaid copy of the process, or any other document under certificate of posting or by registered post acknowledgment due to the last known address of the respondent or person concerned in the record of the Office, in which case service shall be deemed to have been affected ten days after the aforesaid mailing;

(iii) by a police officer or any employee or nominee of the Office leaving the process or document at the last known address, abode, or place of business of the respondent or person concerned and if no one is available at the aforementioned address, premises or place, by affixing

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a copy of the process or other document to the main entrance of such address; and

(iv) by publishing the process or document through any newspaper and sending a copy thereof to the respondent or the person concerned through ordinary mail, in which case service shall be deemed to have been effected on the day of the publication of the newspaper.

(2) In all matters involving service the burden of proof shall be upon a respondent to credibly demonstrate by assigning sufficient cause that he, in fact, had absolutely no knowledge of the process, and that he actually acted in good faith.

(3) Whenever a document or process from the office is mailed, the envelope or the package shall clearly bear the legend that it is from the Office.

35. Expenditure to be charged on Provincial Consolidated Fund

The remuneration payable to the Ombudsman and the administrative expenses of the Office, including the remuneration payable to staff, nominees and grantees, shall be an expenditure charged upon the Provincial Consolidated Fund.

36. Rules

The Ombudsman may, with the approval of the Government, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act.

37. Act to override other laws

The provisions of this Act shall have effect notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force.

38. Removal of difficulties

If any difficulty arises in giving effect to any provision of this Act, the Government may make such order not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act as may appear to him to be necessary for the purpose of removing such difficulty.

39. Repeal

The Punjab Office of the Ombudsman Ordinance 1997 (XIV of 1997) is hereby repealed.

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FIRST SCHEDULE [see section 3(3)]

I, ………………. do solemnly swear that I will bear true faith and allegiance to Pakistan.

That as Ombudsman for the Province of Punjab I will discharge my duties and perform my functions honestly, to the best of my ability, faithfully in accordance with the laws for the time being in force in the Province without fear or favour, affection or ill-will.

That I will not allow any personal interest to influence my official conduct or my official decisions;

That I shall do my best to promote the best interest of Pakistan and the Province of the Punjab.

And that I will not directly or indirectly communicate or reveal to any person any matter which shall be brought under my consideration, or shall become known to me, as Ombudsman, except as may be required for the due discharge of my duties as Ombudsman.

May Allah Almighty help and guide me (Ameen)

SECOND SCHEDULE [see section 8(4)]

I, ………........ do solemnly swear that I will bear true faith and allegiance to Pakistan.

That as an employee of the office of the Ombudsman for the Province of Punjab, I will discharge my duties and perform my functions honestly, to the best of my ability, faithfully, in accordance with the laws for the time being in force in the Province, without fear or favour, affection, or ill-will;

That I will not allow my personal interest to influence my official conduct or my official decisions;

And that I will not directly or indirectly communicate or reveal to any person any matter, which shall be brought under my consideration, or shall become known to me, as an employee of the office of the Ombudsman.

May Allah Almighty help and guide me (Ameen)

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OMBUDSMAN

OMBUDSMAN FOR THE PROVINCE OF PUNJAB (REGISTRATION, INVESTIGATION AND DISPOSAL OF

COMPLAINTS) REGULATIONS, 2005

OFFICE OF THE OMBUDSMAN PUNJAB, LAHORE

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OFFICE OF THE OMBUDSMAN PUNJAB LAHORE

NOTIFICATION

No. (Registrar) 1-21/2004 Dated Lahore the January 31, 2005

In exercise of powers conferred by sub-section (11) of section 10 of the Punjab Office of the Ombudsman Act, 1997 (Punjab Act X of 1997), the Ombudsman for the Province of the Punjab is pleased to make the following Regulations laying down the procedure for registration, investigation and disposal of complaints under the Act, namely:–

CHAPTER-I

INTRODUCTION

1. Short title and commencement.— (1) These Regulations may be called the Ombudsman for the Province of Punjab (Registration, Investigation and Disposal of Complaints) Regulations, 2005.

(2) They shall come into force at once.

2. Definitions.— (1) In these Regulations, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context, —

(a) “Act” means the Punjab Office of the Ombudsman Act, 1997 (Punjab Act X of 1997);

(b) “Authorised Officer” means an officer of the Office of the Ombudsman authorised by the Ombudsman for scrutiny of complaints at the stage of preliminary examination;

(c) “disposal” means the completion of all proceedings in a complaint, reference or motion;

(d) “examination” means scrutiny of complaints by the Registrar or the Authorised Officer at the preliminary stage or by the Investigation Officer on commencement of investigation;

(e) “Form” means a form specified by the Ombudsman;

(f) “Head Office” means the principal seat of the Office of the Ombudsman at Lahore;

(g) “hearing” means the process of ascertaining facts by hearing of one or all the parties, examination of the record and spot inspection;

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(h) “investigation” means investigation of allegations raised in a complaint, reference or motion till its disposal and includes holding of enquiry;

(i) “Investigation Officer” means an officer of the Office of the Ombudsman to whom a complaint, reference or motion has been entrusted for investigation;

(j) “Record Room” means the record room maintained at the Head Office or at a Regional Office where the files are consigned after disposal;

(k) “Regional Office” means a Regional Office of the Office of the Ombudsman established at any place in the Province of Punjab;

(l) “Registrar” includes an Additional Registrar, Deputy Registrar, Assistant Registrar or any other officer who may be assigned the duties of the Registrar;

(m) “Registry” means an office in the Head Office or the Regional Office where the complaints are presented or received; and

(n) “Secretary” means the Secretary of the Office of the Ombudsman Punjab.

(2) All other terms and expressions used in these Regulations but not defined hereinbefore shall have the same meaning as have been assigned to them in the Act.

CHAPTER-II

PROCEDURE FOR REGISTRATION OF COMPLAINTS

3. Presentation of complaints.— (1) A complaint written in Urdu or English may be presented by the complainant personally or through his authorized representative or submitted by post or other means at the Head Office, or at a Regional Office having territorial jurisdiction in the matter.

(2) The territorial jurisdiction of the Head Office and the Regional Offices shall be as specified in the Schedule to these Regulations which may, at any time be altered by the Ombudsman by an order in writing:

Provided that the Ombudsman may direct that a complaint falling within the territorial jurisdiction of Head Office or a Regional Office may be investigated at another Regional Office or at the Head Office.

(3) Every complaint shall be made on solemn affirmation or supported by an affidavit to the effect that—

(a) the allegations contained in the complaint are correct and true to the best of knowledge and belief of the complainant;

(b) previously no complaint on the subject was filed at the Head Office or any Regional Office;

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(c) no suit, appeal, petition or any other judicial proceedings in connection with the subject matter of the complaint are pending before any Court.

(4) On receipt of a complaint the person incharge of the Registry shall–

a) diarize the complaint.

b) issue an acknowledgement receipt to the complainant in person if he is present or send it by post; and

c) forward it to the Registrar.

4. Examination by the Registrar.— The Registrar shall, on receipt of the complaint from the Registry—

(i) allot a registration number to the complaint;

(ii) examine the complaint alongwith the documents attached thereto; and

(iii) submit the complaint with his views to the Ombudsman or the Authorized Officer for orders as to its admission or otherwise.

5. Admission or rejection of complaint at preliminary stage.— (1) Where the grievance of a complainant against an Agency or its employee prima facie amounts to maladministration, and the complaint is not incompetent under the proviso to sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) of section 9 of the Act, and is not barred under sub-section (2) of section 10 thereof, the Ombudsman, or the Authorised Officer, shall admit the complaint for investigation.

(2) Where, prima facie, a complaint is deemed incompetent under sub-regulation(1)or does not require any investigation for any other reason, the Ombudsman or the Authorised Officer may reject the complaint in limine:

Provided that the Ombudsman may, in his discretion, direct that such matter may be resolved informally under section 33 of the Act.

(3) Where a complaint is rejected in limine, the Registrar shall inform the complainant the reasons for rejection of the complaint and consign the file to the record.

(4) Where the complaint is admitted under sub-regulation (1), the Registrar shall pass it on to the Investigation Officer authorised to investigate complaints against a particular Agency and inform the complainant of the procedure to be followed in investigation of the complaint.

6. Suo Moto Cognizance.— (1) Whenever suo moto cognizance of maladministration is taken by the Ombudsman, he may issue to the principal officer or any other officer of the

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Agency a notice incorporating brief facts and circumstances or send a copy of the written material which, in his opinion, appears to have caused maladministration and call upon him to meet the allegations contained therein and to submit a detailed report.

(2) On receipt of report as required under sub regulation (1), the Ombudsman may close the investigation if he is satisfied that no maladministration has been committed.

(3) Where the Ombudsman decides to proceed with the investigation, he may either investigate the matter himself or entrust it to any other Investigation Officer to proceed further in the matter as provided in the Act and these Regulations.

CHAPTER-III

PROCEDURE FOR INVESTIGATION

7. Entrustment of complaints to Investigation Officers.— (1) For the purpose of investigation of the complaint, the Ombudsman may, by general or special order in writing, authorise any officer at the Head Office or at a Regional Office to exercise powers under sub-sections (1) and (3) of section 14 of the Act.

(2) The Ombudsman may, where any request is made by a complainant or an Agency, in the interest of expeditious finalization of investigation, transfer a complaint registered at the Head Office to a Regional Office or registered at a Regional Office to the Head Office or to another Regional Office.

(3) Where a complaint is not made on solemn affirmation or is not accompanied by a copy of the National Identity Card and an affidavit in the specified form, the Investigation Officer shall require the complainant to provide it, otherwise, the complaint may be dismissed.

(4) If the Investigation Officer after perusal of the complaint comes to the conclusion that it should not have been entertained on any of the grounds mentioned in section 9 or those in section 10(2) of the Act, he shall submit the complaint with his findings to the Ombudsman for orders.

8. Report from the Agency.— (1) In respect of every complaint admitted for investigation under regulation 5 and further scrutinized under regulation 7, a report in writing shall be called from the Agency complained against.

Provided that where circumstances so require, the report may be called for through telephone, telex, fax, e-mail or any other means of communication:

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Provided further that where an immediate action or redress is called for, the Investigation Officer may call upon the principal officer of the concerned Agency to redress or cause the grievance to be redressed within a specified period and submit a compliance report to the Ombudsman but if he is of the view that the grievance cannot be redressed, he shall submit a detailed report explaining the reasons why the same cannot be done.

(2) The notice calling for a report shall be accompanied by a copy of the complaint or relevant extracts therefrom highlighting the grievances of the complainant, the alleged nature of maladministration and where necessary, copies of all relevant documents attached with the complaint.

(3) The notice for submission of report under subsection (4) of section 10 of the Act shall be addressed to the principal officer of the Agency as well as to any other officer who is alleged in the complaint to have taken or authorized the action complained of.

(4) The report shall be submitted within such period as is specified in the notice or within such period ordinarily not exceeding 15 days as may be allowed on the written request of the principal officer or the officer concerned.

(5) Where the principal officer or the officer concerned fails to submit the report as required under sub-regulation (4), the Investigation Officer shall issue another notice requiring the principal officer or the officer concerned to appear before him or the Ombudsman on the specified date or depute an officer well conversant with the facts of the case with the written report and the relevant record of the case, failing which the Ombudsman may issue directions to the appropriate authority under sub-section (5) of section 14 of the Act for taking disciplinary action against the person who disregarded the direction. If failure or disobedience to submit report on the part of the principal officer or the officer concerned so warrants, the Ombudsman may proceed against him for contempt under section 16 of the Act.

9. Agency’s Report on allegations of the Complainant.—(1) Where the Agency reports that the grievance of the complainant already stands redressed or relief has been provided to him on receipt of the complaint from Ombudsman Office, the complaint may be disposed of as having borne fruit unless it is considered necessary to award compensation to the complainant for the loss or damage suffered by him due to gross maladministration in accordance with section 22 of the Act.

(2) In a case where the Agency reports that for the relief sought, the complainant was required to fulfil certain procedural requirements, the complainant shall be directed to

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complete such requirements and, if no information is received within the time allowed by the Investigation Officer, it shall be presumed that the complainant does not wish to pursue the case further and the complaint may be filed as not pressed.

(3) Where the Agency contests some or all the allegations made by the complainant, the Investigation Officer may, if he is not satisfied with the report of the Agency, address a questionnaire to the Agency for elucidation of specific questions or call for additional information.

10. Rejoinder.— (1) Where the Investigation Officer is satisfied that, in the light of the report of the Agency, any clarification in respect of the allegations contained in the complaint is required from the complainant, he shall call upon the complainant to submit a rejoinder within a specified time not exceeding thirty days, or such further period not exceeding 20 days as may be extended by the Investigation Officer.

Provided that if no rejoinder is received within the extended period, the Investigation Officer may finalize investigation:

Provided further that where the Agency makes a request with plausible reasons that any portion of the report or any document annexed to its report may be kept confidential, such portion of the report or, as the case may be, document shall not be sent to the complainant unless the Investigation Officer decides otherwise.

(2) Where on receipt of rejoinder from the complainant, the Investigation Officer finds that the complainant is satisfied with the report of the Agency and does not desire to pursue his case any further, the complaint may be deemed to have been disposed of as having borne fruit unless there is sufficient material to show that there was any gross maladministration which was the basis of the complaint. In such a case the Ombudsman may pass such orders as he deems fit.

(3) Where the complainant reiterates his stand without any reasonable grounds or justification and the Investigation Officer is of the opinion that the Agency had not committed any maladministration, the complaint shall be rejected.

11. Further investigation.— Where the Investigation Officer is of the opinion that any further enquiry is called for, he shall bring out the controversial points between the parties for determination and require the Agency;-

(a) to provide further comments; (b) to make clarification of any specific issue; (c) to produce the relevant record; or (d) to depute a representative for a hearing.

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12. Hearing of cases.— (1) Hearing shall be fixed only when it is considered necessary in the interest of fair and expeditious disposal of the complaint.

(2) As far as may be, no officer of the Agency shall be summoned by name or rank and the Agency shall ordinarily be required to depute an officer fully conversant with the facts of the case.

(3) The officers of the rank of Secretary and above shall be summoned only with the approval of the Ombudsman.

(4) Any mutual agreement or undertaking given by parties shall be recorded by the Investigation Officer and signed by the persons representing the parties.

(5) If for any reason, the date of hearing already fixed is changed, the Investigation Officer shall inform both the parties well in time of the next date of hearing.

13. Inspections.— (1) Where an inspection of a place, or site, or the examination of any record is necessary, the Investigation Officer himself or any official authorized by him shall, with the approval of the Ombudsman, and after due intimation to the Agency proceed for the inspection of the spot or, as the case may be, examination of the record.

Provided that, if the place of such inspection falls within the jurisdiction of another Regional Office or the Head Office, the case file may, with the approval of the Ombudsman, be sent to such Regional Office or the Head Office, highlighting the points in issue involved in the matter for carrying out inspection of the site or examination of the record, as the case may be.

(2) The file of the case shall be returned to the Investigation Officer with a report of inspection of the spot or examination of the record, as the case may be.

14. Requisitioning of record.— (1) Where the Investigation Officer considers it necessary, the Agency may be directed to produce the record under sub-section (9) of section 10 of the Act:

(2) In case any portion of the record is considered necessary to be retained by the Investigation Officer, an authenticated copy thereof shall be prepared and provided to the Agency.

15. Information from and to the complainant.— (1) If at any stage of the investigation, the Investigation Officer desires to seek any clarification from the complainant, he may ask him on telephone or through post or to appear before him for the purpose.

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(2) If the investigation of any case is protracted and its disposal is likely to take more than three months or if the complainant approaches the Investigation Officer to ascertain the position of his case, the complainant shall be kept informed of the progress of his case at least once in every three months.

16. Transfer of cases.— Where in a complaint filed in a Regional Office the Agency complained against is located within the territorial jurisdiction of another Regional Office or the Head Office, the Ombudsman may transfer such complaint to the concerned Regional Office or the Head Office, as the case may be.

CHAPTER-IV

PROCEDURE FOR DISPOSAL OF COMPLAINTS

17. Completion of Investigation — The investigation of a complaint shall, with the approval of the Ombudsman, be closed when it is found that–

(a) the subject matter of the complaint does not fall within the purview of the Act; or

(b) no case of maladministration is prima facie made out; or

(c) the Agency is not at fault as a particular procedure has to be adopted or formalities have to be followed by the complainant for redress of his grievance; or

(d) the complainant fails to furnish the required information or supply relevant documents, or fails to attend hearings, despite notices and it is not possible to decide the complaint on the basis of the available record; or

(e) the relief had already been provided before the complaint was lodged and the complainant confirms the redress of his grievance or he is informed of the same through registered post; or

(f) the complainant and the representative of the Agency agree to a proposition consequent whereof grievance is redressed without any proof of maladministration; or

(g) the complainant without any reasonable ground or justification continues to press his allegations but the Agency is not guilty of maladministration; or

(h) where findings for redress of grievance have been given and the directions contained therein have been complied with or a representation has been filed to the Governor under section 32 of the Act; or

(i) where representation under section 32 of the Act is rejected or the findings have been modified, and the original or the modified findings, as the case may be, have been complied with; or

(j) the subject matter of the complaint was subjudice before a court of competent jurisdiction on the date of receipt of the complaint, reference or motion; or

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(k) the complaint by or on behalf of a public servant or functionary concerns matters relating to the Agency in which he is or has been, working, in respect of personal grievance relating to his service therein; or

(l) the subject matter of the complaint is the same which has already been disposed of by findings in an earlier complaint; or

(m) the subject matter of the complaint has already been adjudicated upon by a Court or Tribunal of competent jurisdiction; or

(n) the complaint had been made by a person who is not an aggrieved person; or

(o) the complaint was anonymous or pseudonymous.

18. Findings of the Ombudsman— (1) In all cases where investigation is proposed to be closed at any stage of investigation and where a direction to the Agency or any of its officers or employees is or is not to be issued, the Investigation Officer shall prepare draft findings, as far as possible in the specified form and submit these to the Ombudsman for orders / decision.

(2) The draft findings shall be simple, impersonal, persuasive and in paragraphs duly numbered in chronological order.

(3) At the Head Office, the draft findings shall be submitted to the Ombudsman directly while those at the Regional Offices shall be submitted through the Registrar at the Head Office or submitted to the Ombudsman during his tour to the respective Regional office.

(4) On submission of draft findings, the Ombudsman may pass orders/decision, make such changes in the draft findings as he considers necessary in the light of the investigation done, ask the Investigation Officer to redraft the findings or to carry out further investigation as indicated.

(5) These draft findings shall be resubmitted to the Ombudsman after making such changes as have been approved by him or directed by him to be made or after carrying out such investigation as directed by him, as the case may be, the draft findings will then be resubmitted to the Ombudsman for orders/decision.

(6) In all cases, a copy of the order/decision shall be communicated to the complainant and the Agency concerned.

19. Completion of Findings and consignment of files to Record.— (1)After the findings are signed by the Ombudsman:-

(a) all drafts shall be destroyed by the Investigation Officer;

(b) the copies of the Findings shall be authenticated by the Investigation Officer and despatched to the complainant and the Agency.

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(2) With the approval of the Ombudsman, important findings may be circulated amongst Investigation Officers for information and selected cases may be sent to the Public Relations Section at the Head Office for publication.

(3) Where a complaint is closed or rejected it shall be consigned to the record room within 14 days of the closure or rejection.

(4) Where any findings have been communicated to the Agency under sub-section (1) of section 11, the file shall be retained by the Investigation Officer and consigned to record room only after confirmation of implementation of the recommendation has been received from the Agency or the Complainant.

(5) The Investigation Officer shall send one copy of the findings in the specified form in duplicate to the Computer Section at the Head Office for updating the record and place the other copy on the relevant file which should then be consigned to the record room.

(6) Where any person is aggrieved by a decision or order of the Ombudsman and intends to file a representation to the Governor under section 32 of the Act, the file may be consigned to record room within 14 days of the confirmation of representation having been filed.

(7) Where a representation to the Governor made under section 32 of the Act is rejected or the findings are modified, the file shall be taken out from the record room for making an entry about the decision of the Governor and shall be consigned to the record room within 14 days of the confirmation of implementation of the original or modified findings.

20. Reconsideration Petition.— (1) In case an Agency gives reasons in terms of subsection (2) of section 11 of the Act for not complying with the directions, a copy of its report shall be supplied to the complainant on the specified form, for his comments.

(2) On receipt of a reply from the complainant, he shall be provided an opportunity of being heard and after considering his pleadings during the hearing, if any, the Investigation Officer shall submit the case with draft findings to the Ombudsman for orders.

(3) On considering the case submitted by the Investigation Officer under sub regulation (2), the Ombudsman may pass such orders thereon as deemed appropriate and have them communicated to the complainant and the Agency.

21. Procedure in case of non-compliance.— Where—

i) no representation to the Governor has been filed by the Agency under section 32 of the Act; or

ii) a representation was filed but has been rejected; or

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iii) a modified findings have been issued as a result of the orders of the Governor on the representation;

and the Agency fails to implement the original or the modified recommendations wholly or partially and the reasons given by the principal officer or the officer concerned for non-implementation have been rejected by the Ombudsman as unsatisfactory, it shall be treated as “Defiance of Recommendations” and dealt with under section 12 of the Act.

22. Correction of errors, mistakes, misrepresentation, etc.— (1) Where through any typographical error, mistake or misrepresentation by the complainant or the Agency, an incorrect figure, fact or position is reflected in the findings and directions of the Ombudsman, the Investigation Officer shall, after giving notice to the complainant and the Agency and providing them an opportunity of being heard, submit the case with draft findings to the Ombudsman in specified form for consequential rectification or modification of the original findings and directions.

(2) In all cases where the consequential rectification or modification is made the decision shall be communicated to the complainant and the Agency on specified form.

23. Proceedings for Defiance of Recommendations or Disciplinary Action.— (1) Where it is decided by the Ombudsman to initiate proceedings for “Defiance of recommendations” in terms of Section 12 of the Act or for action under sub-section (5) or (6) of section 14 of the Act, the Investigation Officer shall submit a self contained note to the Secretary alongwith a show cause notice on specified form. In the case of a Regional Office, the Investigation Officer concerned shall submit the case to the Secretary through the Officer Incharge of that Office.

(2) The Secretary shall, with the approval of the Ombudsman, cause the notice to be served on the public servant concerned to show cause as to why the proposed action may not be taken against him.

(3) After considering all the facts of the case, including the reply to the show cause notice, if any, of the public servant under sub regulation (2), the Ombudsman may refer the matter to the Government under sub section (1) of section 12.

24. Communication of Orders of the Government.— The orders of the Government passed on a report of the Ombudsman for “Defiance of recommendations” under section 12 of the Act, shall be communicated by the office of the Ombudsman to the public servant and the concerned Agency for compliance under intimation to the Ombudsman on or before the date specified for the purpose.

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CHAPTER-V

MISCELLANEOUS

25. Monthly Progress Report.— (1) Every Investigation Officer shall submit monthly reports on specified form to the Registrar at the Head Office for onward submission to the Ombudsman.

(2) The Investigation Officers at the Regional Offices shall submit monthly reports through Incharge of the Regional Office concerned who may add his comments on the covering note.

(3) The Secretary shall, by the tenth day of each month, submit to the Ombudsman, in the specified form a statement about institution and disposal of complaints for and upto the end of the preceding month.

26. Notices.— (1) A notice on specified form shall be issued to the complainant by registered post if he fails to —

(a) furnish required information or documents;

(b) confirm and verify the contents of the complaint on solemn affirmation or oath;

(c) submit rejoinder or rebuttal within the specified time;

(d) confirm the compliance of the procedural requirements of the Agency; and

(e) confirm the grant of relief.

(2) Where the Ombudsman rejects a complaint being false, frivolous or vexatious and decides to award compensation to an Agency, public servant or other functionary under subsection (4) of section 14, before awarding such compensation, the Ombudsman may issue a show cause notice to the complainant on specified form.

(3) Where the Ombudsman contemplates to proceed against employee of an Agency or a public servant or the complainant or other person for contempt of his Office a notice to show cause may be issued to him/them on specified form.

(4) Where the Ombudsman considers that the complainant has suffered loss or damage on account of maladministration of an Agency or any other public servant or any other functionary and deserves awarding of compensation under section 22 of the Act, such Agency, public servant or functionary may be issued a notice to show cause on specified form before awarding compensation.

(5) As far as may be, all notices shall be issued under registered cover and special care shall be taken to record the correct mailing address.

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27. List of Principal Officers of the Agencies and their nominees.— (1) The Registrar at the Head Office and the Additional Registrar/Assistant Registrars at the Regional Offices shall maintain a list of principal officers of Agencies.

(2) The Investigation Officers shall bring to the notice of the Registrar at the Head Office or the Additional Registrar/Assistant Registrar at the Regional Office whenever any information is received by them in respect of any change of the principal officer of an Agency.

28. Maintenance of files.— (1) The Investigation Officer shall ensure that the record of every complaint is properly maintained and the proceedings are reflected in chronological order in the order sheet as given in specified form.

(2) The case file shall contain the following particulars on its cover, namely:-

(a) registration number of the complaint;

(b) date of registration of the complaint;

(c) complainant’s name;

(d) name of the Agency complained against;

(e) brief subject of the complaint;

(f) whether the file contains correspondence or noting or both;

(g) date of disposal of complaint; and

(h) date of consignment to record.

(3) The complaint alongwith cover sheets on specified forms shall be tagged on the right-hand side of the file, whereas the order sheet on specified form shall be placed on the left-hand side of the file.

(4) The pages should be numbered in chronological order with the last numbered page appearing on the right hand side on the file.

(5) The order sheet on specified form shall contain record of actions taken with dates for further processing and shall be used as noting part of the file for obtaining orders, instructions and directions of the Ombudsman.

29. Notwithstanding any provision in these Regulations but subject to the provisions contained in the Act, the Ombudsman shall continue to exercise his powers and have absolute discretion to modify the procedure of handling any particular case or adopt a special procedure keeping in view the special nature and facts of the case.

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SCHEDULE

[see regulation 3 (2)]

TERRITORIAL JURISDICTION OF

HEAD OFFICE AND REGIONAL OFFICES

NAME OF OFFICE DISTRICTS

HEAD OFFICE, LAHORE Lahore, Sheikhupura, Kasur, Okara, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Narowal, Gujrat, Hafizabad, Mandi Bahauddin, Rawalpindi, Jhelum, Chakwal, Attock, Sargodha, Mianwali, Khushab, Bhakkar, Faisalabad, Jhang, T.T. Singh, Bahawalnagar, Pakpattan.

REGIONAL OFFICE, MULTAN Multan, Sahiwal, Khanewal, Lodhran, Vehari, D.G.Khan, Muzaffargarh, Rajanpur, Layyah, Bahawalpur, R.Y.Khan.

-Sd-

OMBUDSMAN FOR THE PROVINCE OF PUNJAB

231

232

233

234

LIST OF PRINCIPAL OFFICERS

NAME OF ADMINISTRATIVE /ATTACHED DEPTT. /AUTONOMOUS BODY

PRINCIPAL OFFICER BY DESIGNATION

OFFICE ADDRESS OFFICE TEL.NO.

AGRICULTURE

ATTACHED DEPTT:

University of Agriculture, Faisalabad

Registrar Jail Road, Faisalabad. 9200187 9200161-9

AUQAF, RELIGIOUS AND MINORITY AFFAIRS

Deputy Director (Religious Affairs)

Aiwan-e-Auqaf near High Court, Lahore.

9213007

COMMERCE & INVESTMENT

Additional Secretary

Lahore Trade Centre (LCCI) Building, 11-Shahra-e-Aiwan-e-Tajarat, Lahore.

9203872 9203867

COMMUNICATION & WORKS

Deputy Director (Legal)

Old Anarkali, Lahore. 9210366

ATTACHED DEPTT:

Chief Engineer Building (South Zone), Lahore

Technical Officer

Old Anarkali, Lahore. 9212155

Chief Engineer Building (North Zone), Lahore

Technical Officer

Old Anarkali, Lahore. 9212142

Chief Engineer Highway (South Zone), Lahore

Deputy Director-I

2-Lake Road, Lahore. 9212161

Chief Engineer Highway (North Zone), Lahore

Deputy Director-I

2-Lake Road, Lahore. 9212642

Chief Architect Punjab, Lahore

Deputy Director (Arch)

Old Anarkali, Lahore. 9210771

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COOPERATIVES

ATTACHED DEPTT.

Registrar Cooperative Societies Punjab, Lahore

Deputy Registrar (Judl)

The Mall, Lahore. 9211419

EDUCATION A. S. (E&A) Higher Education

Punjab Civil Secretariat, Lahore.

9210034

A. S. (Gen) School Wing

Punjab Civil Secretariat, Lahore.

9212016

ATTACHED DEPTT:

D.P.I.(SE) Punjab, Lahore D.P.I The Mall, Lahore. 9212265

D.P.I.(EE) Punjab, Lahore D.P.I Hall Road, Lahore. 7358515

Punjab Education Foundation

Managing Director

19-Ahmad Block, New Garden Town Lahore.

9230729

Provincial Institute of Teachers Education

Director Wahdat Road, Lahore. 5433625

Director Staff Development Punjab

Director Wahdat Road, Lahore. 5433609

Educational Management Information System

Director Wahdat Road, Lahore. 5433611

AUTONOMOUS BODIES

Punjab Text Book Board, Lahore

Chairman 21-E-II Gulberg-III, Lahore. 9230677

BISE Lahore Chairman 86-Mozang Near Ganga Ram Hospital, Lahore.

9200101-2

BISE Gujranwala Chairman Sialkot Road Near Loyanwala Bypass, Gujranwala.

9200742

BISE Rawalpindi Chairman D-147 6th Road, Satellite Town, Rawalpindi.

9290553

BISE Multan Chairman Gulgasht Colony, Multan. 9210010-1

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BISE Bahawalpur Chairman Cheema Town, Bahawalpur. 9255080-1

BISE D.G. Khan Chairman Chowk Mustafa, Multan Road, D.G. Khan.

2472620-1

BISE Faisalabad Chairman Jail Road, Faisalabad. 9200836

BISE Sargodha Chairman Faisalabad Road, Sargodha. 9230143

University of the Punjab, Lahore

Vice Chancellor New Campus, Lahore. 9231098

University of Engineering Technology Baghbanpura, Lahore

Vice Chancellor G.T. Road, Lahore. 6822012

Govt. College University, Lahore

Vice Chancellor The Lower Mall, Lahore.

Lahore College for Women University, Lahore

Vice Chancellor Jail Road, Lahore. 9203072

University of Education, Lahore

Vice Chancellor 92-D Model Town, Lahore. 5847293

Government College University, Faisalabad

Vice Chancellor Circular Road, Faisalabad. 9200670

University of Sargodha Vice Chancellor College Road, Sargodha. 9230170

Islamia University Bahawalpur

Vice Chancellor Baghdad Aljadeed Road, Bahawalpur.

9250231

Bahauddin Zakaria University, Multan

Vice Chancellor Bosan Road, Multan. 9210069

University of Technology Taxila

Vice Chancellor H.M.C. Road, Taxila. 9314228

Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi

Vice Chancellor Civil Line, Katchery Road Rawalpindi.

9271166

University of Gujrat Registrar Fawara Chowk, Circular Road, Gujrat.

9260271-5

FOOD Dy. Secretary (General)

Old P&D Building, 2-Bank Road, Lahore.

9210516 9210517

ATTACHED DEPTT:

Cane Commissionerate Punjab, Lahore

Cane Commissioner

Old P&D Building, 2-Bank Road, Lahore.

9210294

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Food Directorate Punjab, Lahore

Deputy Director (Admn)

State Life Building, 4-Lytton Road, Lahore.

9212539 9212546

FORESTRY WILDLIFE& FISHERIES

Deputy Secretary (Admn)

38 Poonch House, Multan Road, Lahore.

9211598

ATTACHED DEPTT:

Director General Wildlife & Parks

Director (Wildlife & Parks)

2-Sanda Road, Lahore. 9212385

Director General Fisheries

Director Fisheries (Extension)

2-Sanda Road, Lahore. 9212372

Chief Conservator Conservator of Forest

24-Cooper Road, Lahore. 9200781

Conservator of Forest (Coord) Rawalpindi

Forest Complex, Sawan Camp, GT, Road, Islamabad.

4490478

Conservator of Forest (Coord) Multan

Forest Complex behind District Jail Multan.

9200127 9200145

AUTONOMOUS BODIES

Lahore Zoo, Lahore Director The Mall, Lahore 6314684

HUD & PHE Deputy Secretary (Admn)

2-Lake Road, Lahore. 9212629

ATTACHED DEPTT:

Chief Engineer, PHED (North) Zone, Lahore

Director (Admn) 2-Lake Road, Lahore. 9212880

Chief Engineer, PHED (South), Zone Lahore

Director (Admn) 2-Lake Road, Lahore. 9212688

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AUTONOMOUS BODIES

LDA, Lahore Director (Admn) Egerton Road, Lahore. 9201510

FDA, Faisalabad Director (Admn) Opposite DHQ Hospital, Faisalabad.

9200097

RDA Rawalpindi Director (Admn) Murree Road, Near Liaqat Bagh, Rawalpindi.

5559574

GDA, Gujranwala Director (Admn) Trust Plaza, Model Town, Gujranwala.

9200174

MDA, Multan Director (Admn) MDA Chowk, Multan. 9200837

Punjab Housing & Town Planning Agency, Lahore

Deputy Director (Admn)

Sanda Road, Lahore. 9213422

Parks & Horticulture Authority, Lahore

Director (Admn) Race Course Park, Lahore. 9200830

WASA, LDA, Lahore Director (Admn) Gulberg-V, Jail Road, Lahore.

7574150

WASA, FDA, Faisalabad Director (Admn) Railway Road, Faisalabad. 9210049-50

WASA, RDA, Rawalpindi Director (Admn) Murree Road, Near Liaqat Bagh, Rawalpindi.

5554151

WASA, GDA, Gujranwala Director (Admn) Trust Plaza, G.T. Road, Gujranwala.

9200454

WASA, MDA, Multan Director (Admn) Near Civil Hospital, Lanze Khan Bagh Road, Multan.

9200575

INFORMATION, CULTURE & YOUTH AFFAIRS

Deputy Secretary (Admn)

Punjab Civil Secretariat, Lahore.

9211985

ATTACHED DEPTT:

Directorate General Public Relations

Deputy Director

21-Abbott Road, Lahore. 7573679

Directorate General, Archaeology, Punjab

Director Aiwan-e-Auqaf, Lahore. 9210870

239

AUTONOMOUS BODIES

Punjab Institute of Language Art & Culture

Director 62-Shadman-II, Lahore. 7522522

Punjab Council of the Arts, Lahore

Deputy Director 53-Shadman-II, Lahore. 7589584

Lahore Arts Council, Lahore Deputy Director 68-Mall Road, Lahore. 9200918

LABOUR & HUMAN RESOURCE

Deputy Secretary (Admn/Dev)

Old P&D Building, Lahore.

9210497

ATTACHED DEPTT:

Directorate of Labour Welfare

Assistant Director (Admn)

62-D, Muslim Town, Wahdat Road, Lahore.

9230353

Minimum Wages Board Secretary 62-D, Muslim Town, Wahdat Road, Lahore.

9220139

AUTONOMOUS BODIES

Punjab Employees Social Security Institution

Additional Director (Legal)

3-A, Gulberg-V, Lahore. 5752728

Punjab Workers Welfare Board

Deputy Director (Admn)

RF.A/1, Khyber Block, Allama Iqbal Town, Lahore.

7821109

LAW & PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS

Deputy Secretary (Admn)

Punjab Civil Secretariat, Lahore.

9210048

ATTACHED DEPTT:

Solicitor Punjab Addl. Solicitor 36-E Court Street, Rehman Arcade, Lahore.

9210915

Advocate General Punjab Asstt. Advocate General Punjab

Lahore High Court, Lahore.

9212362 9213557

Administrator Gen. & Official Trustee, Punjab

Administrator 13-Justice Kayani Road, Lahore.

7357721

240

LIVESTOCK & DAIRY DEVELOPMENT

Deputy Secretary (Admn)

Punjab Civil Secretariat, Lahore.

9210530

ATTACHED DEPTT:

Directorate General (Ext) L&DD

Director (Headquarter)

16-Cooper Road, Lahore. 9201124

Directorate General, (Res) L&DD

Deputy Director (Res)

VRI Ghazi Road, Lahore Cantt.

9220139

AUTONOMOUS BODIES

University of Veterinary and

Animal Sciences, Lahore

Registrar Near Civil Lines College, Lahore.

9212868

Society for Prevention Cruelty to Animals

Honorary Secretary

Near Civil Lines College, Lahore.

9211477

PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT

Dy. Secretary (Admn)

Punjab Civil Secretariat, Lahore.

9210355

ATTACHED DEPTT:

Bureau of Statistics, Lahore

Dy. Director 2-Begum Road, Lahore. 9212587

Agency for Barani Areas Development, Rawalpindi

Dy. Director (Admn)

Muree Road, Rawalpindi. 9290344

AUTONOMOUS BODIES

Cholistan Development Authority, Bahawalpur

Director (Rev& Admn)

Yazman Road, Near Kali Pulli, Bahawalpur.

062/9250157

Punjab Economics Research Institute, Lahore

Senior Research Economist

48-Civil Centre, Johar Town, Lahore.

5188750

INDUSTRIES

AUTONOMOUS BODIES

Punjab Small Industries Corporation

Joint Director (Admn)

4th Floor, LDA Plaza, Egerton Road, Lahore.

9203730-3

241

SERVICES & GENERAL ADMINISTRATION

Admin Wing Deputy Secretary (Personnel)

Punjab Civil Secretariat, Lahore.

9210908

Services Wing Deputy Secretary (Confidential)

Punjab Civil Secretariat, Lahore.

9210901 9210905

O & M Wing Additional Secretary (Management)

H-Block, 3rd Floor, Punjab Civil Secretariat, Lahore.

9211669 9212612

Archives Wing Deputy Secretary (R&A)

Punjab Civil Secretariat, Lahore.

9211011

D.G. Protocol Deputy Director Protocol

25-Zaman Park, Lahore. 9201380

ATTACHED DEPTT:

Anti-Corruption Establishment

Deputy Director (Legal)

2-Farid Court House, Lahore.

9211379

AUTONOMOUS BODIES

OTHER INSTITUTIONS

Punjab Public Service Commission

Law Officer 2-Davis Road, Lahore. 9201445 9202760-1

SOCIAL WELFARE, WOMEN DEVELOPMENT & BAIT-UL-MAAL

Deputy Secretary (Admn)

Punjab Civil Secretariat Lahore.

9211140

Director General SW, WD & BM. Punjab, Lahore

Director General

41-Empress Road, Lahore. 6365442

242

SPECIAL EDUCATION

Deputy Secretary

31-Sher Shah Block, New Garden Town, Lahore.

9231573

ATTACHED DEPTT:

Director Special Education Deputy Secretary (Admn)

31-Sher Shah Block, New Garden Town, Lahore.

9230285

SPORTS Addl. Secy. (Admn)

National Hockey Stadium, Lahore.

9230570

ATTACHED DEPTT:

Directorate General of Sports Punjab

Deputy Director Sports Punjab

National Hockey Stadium, Lahore.

9230668 9230670

TRANSPORT Deputy Secretary (Admn)

11-A Egerton Road, Lahore.

9201158

ZAKAT & USHR Deputy Secretary (Admn)

2-Court Street, Lahore. 7581858 7917177

ATTACHED DEPTT:

Administrator Zakat & Ushr

Administrator 2-Court Street, Lahore. 9210697 6846668

243

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

A.G. Accountant General

ACR Annual Confidential Report

ADO(R) Assistant District Officer (Revenue)

ADP Annual Development Programme

ADV-I Advisor-I

ADV-II Advisor-II

ASI Assistant Sub Inspector

AWT Army Welfare Trust

B.A. Bachelor of Arts

B.F. Benevolent Fund

B.I.T. Bachelor of Information Technology

B.O.R. Board of Revenue

B.P.S. Basic Pay Scale

B.S. Basic Scale

B.Sc. Bachelor of Science

C&W Communication & Works

C−I Consultant-I

C−II Consultant-II

C−III Consultant-III

C−IV Consultant-IV

C−V Consultant-V

C−VI Consultant-VI

C−VII Consultant-VII

C−VIII Consultant-VIII

C−IX Consultant-IX

C−X Consultant-X

C.F.C. Cooperative Finance Corporation

C.M.A. Controller Military Accounts

C.O. Care of

C.R. Consultant Research

C.T. Certificate of Teaching

Coop. Cooperatives

D.A.O. District Accounts Officer

D.C. Deputy Commissioner

D.C.O. District Coordination Officer

D.D.C. District Development Committee

D.D.O.(A) Deputy District Officer (Accounts)

D.D.O.(C) Deputy District Officer (Co-ordination)

D.E.O. (M-EE)

District Education Officer (Male- Elementary Education)

D.E.O. (W-EE)

District Education Officer (Women- Elementary Education)

D.E.O.(SE) District Education Officer (Secondary Education)

D.G. Khan Dera Ghazi Khan

D.M. District Magistrate

D.O.(A) District Officer (Accounts)

D.O.(C) District Officer (Co-ordination)

D.O.(Coop) District Officer (Cooperatives)

D.O.(F&B) District Officer(Finance & Budget)

D.O.(Lab) District Officer (Labour)

D.O.(P) District Officer (Planning)

D.O.(R) District Officer Revenue

D.O.(SW) District Officer (Social Welfare)

D.P.E. Director Physical Education

D.S.P. Deputy Superintendent of Police

DDO (R) Deputy District Officer (Revenue)

Dev. Development

Dy. Deputy

E&T Excise & Taxation

E.D.O.(Agri) Executive District Officer (Agri.)

E.D.O.(CD) Executive District Officer (Community Development)

E.D.O.(Edu) Executive District Officer (Education)

E.D.O. (F&P/D)

Executive District Officer (Finance and Planning/Development)

E.D.O.(H) Executive District Officer (Health)

E.D.O.(IT) Executive District Officer (Information Technology)

244

E.D.O.(Law) Executive District Officer (Law)

E.D.O.(Lit) Executive District Officer (Literacy)

E.D.O.(R) Executive District Officer (Revenue)

E.O.B.I. Employees Old-age Benefit Institution

E.S.T. Elementary School Teacher

F.D. Finance Department

F.I.R. First Information Report

F.Sc. Faculty of Science

G.A.R.V. Gross Annual Rental Value

G.B. Gogera Branch

G.M. General Manager

G.P. Fund General Provident Fund

H&PP Housing & Physical Planning

H.B.F.C. House Building Finance Corporation

H.B.L. Habib Bank Limited

HUD & PHE Housing, Urban Development & Public Health Engineering

I&P Irrigation & Power

I.G. Inspector General

I.R.U.D.P. Integrated Rural Urban Development Programme

J.B. Jhang Branch

L&DD Livestock & Dairy Development

L.P.R. Leave Preparatory to Retirement

LDA Lahore Development Authority

LG&RD Local Government & Rural Development

Ltd. Limited

M.A. Master of Arts

M.C.B Muslim Commercial Bank

M.D. Managing Director

M.I.T. Master of Information Technology

M.V.Rules Motor Vehicle Rules

MBA Master of Business Administration

MCL Metropolitan Corporation Lahore

MDA Multan Development Authority

N.A.B. National Accountability Bureau

N.B.P. National Bank of Pakistan

N.O.C. No Objection Certificate

N.W.F.P North West Frontier Province

NESPAK National Engineering Services of Pakistan

NGOs Non-Governmental Organizations

NOVs Non-Official Visitors

O.P.F. Overseas Pakistanis Foundation

O.S.D. Officer On Special Duty

P&D Planning & Development

P.B.F. Punjab Benevolent Fund

P.C.B.L. Punjab Cooperative Board for Liquidation

P.E.S.S.I. Punjab Employees Social Security Institution

P.H.A. Parks & Horticulture Authority

P.I.D.B. Punjab Industrial Development Board

P.I.T.B. Punjab Information Technology Board

P.L.D. Pakistan Legal Decisions

P.M. Per Month

P.O. Post Office

P.P.C. Pakistan Penal Code

P.P.O. Pension Payment Order

P.P.S.C. Punjab Public Service Commission

P.S. Police Station

P.T.C. Primary Teaching Certificate

P.T.C.L. Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation Limited

PAD & SC Punjab Agricultural Development and Supply Corporation

Ph.D. Doctor of Philosophy

Pt-I. Part-I

Pvt. Private

245

R.D.A. Rawalpindi Development Authority

R.T.A. Regional Transport Authority

R.Y. Khan Rahim Yar Khan

R/O Resident of

Rft. Running feet

Rtd. Retired

S&GAD Services and General Administration Department

S.C.A.R.P. Salinity Control and Reclamation Project

S.D.O. Sub Divisional Officer

S.E. Secondary Education / Superintending Engineer

S.H.O. Station House Officer

S.I. Sub Inspector

S.M.R. Special Modarba Receipt

S.N.E. Schedule of New Expenditure

S.O.(P.C.) Section Officer (Pay Commission)

S.P. Superintendent of Police

S.S.P. Senior Superintendent of Police

S.V.Teach. Senior VernacularTeacher

T.A./D.A. Traveling Allowance / Daily Allowance

T.E.V.T.A. Technical Education / Vocational Training Authority

T.T. Singh Toba Tek Singh

U.B.L. United Bank Limited

U.C.C. Upper Chenab Canal

W.E.F. With effect from

W.W.F. Workers Welfare Fund

WAPDA Water and Power Development Authority

WASA Water and Sanitation Agency

Wd/O Widow of

XEN Executive Engineer