IN THE HIGH COURT OF SINDH, KARACHI

C.PNo.D-5100 of 2013

Before

Mr. Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar

Mr. Justice Muhammad Iqbal Mahar

01-06-2016 M/s Malik Naeem Iqbal, Barrister Faizan Hussain and Muhammad Saleem Khashkheli, advocate for the Petitioners

Mr. Sibtain Mehmood, A.A.G along with Ms. Rakhshanda, State Counsel.

Khurram Aziz Sheikh, Secretary SIDA, Muhammad Arshad, Section Officer Finance Department and Menghraj Mal Research Officer

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O R D E R

MOHAMMAD ALI MAZHAR---J., The case of the Petitioners is that they are serving in Sindh Irrigation and Drainage Authority for last several years; they are performing their duties on contract basis. He further argued Sindh Irrigation and Drainage Authority is statutory body constituted under the Sindh Water Management Ordinance, 2002.All the petitioners have prayed that directions may be issued to the respondents to regularize the services of the petitioners. Further directions have been sought against the respondents to accept the SNE and sanctioned posts occupied by the petitioners in order to bring the petitioners at par with other similar post(s) / colleagues forthwith.

2. The Finance Department has filed the comments through their Additional Finance Secretary submitted by the learned A.A.G on 06.06.2015 in which it is stated that SIDA is an authority working under the administrative control of Irrigation Department. Finance Department provides funds as Grant-in-Aid to the Irrigation Department for SIDA through single line entry for their administration i.e. Employees related / operating expenses as well as M&R components. The Additional Secretary further stated that SIDA is the authority under the certain Act and their proposal of SNE would not be considered as a policy matter while in the comments submitted by the Managing Director SIDA on behalf of Respondent No.4, it is clearly mentioned in reply of Paragraph-6 of the Petition that as per decision taken in 33^rd Meeting of SIDA Board held on 15-08-2009, it was decided that Core staff, SIDA should be paid from the Government Funds. Accordingly, SIDA prepared SNE for conversion of the salary charges from Development budget to Non-Development Budget. This SNE including all the posts pointed out in the approved PC-I of the WSIP Project was sent to Finance Department Government of Sindh.

3. On 01-03-2016 matter was fixed before this Court when Secretary SIDA was also present and he reiterated before this Court that SNE for forty six (46) post(s) has already been forwarded to the Finance Department.The Deputy Secretary (Admin) and Section Officer Legal Finance Department were also present. They responded on that date again that SIDA is an autonomous body and under their own Act they can create posts for which SNE is not required tobe approved by the Finance Department but they can independently create and abolish any post while on the same date Secretary SIDAsubmitted that in the meeting headed by the Worthy Chief Minister, Sindh, where all Secretaries were present, the Managing Director SIDAwas directed to forward S.N.E for creation of new posts. In order to resolve this controversy and or anomaly between the two Departments,the Secretary Finance, Secretary SIDA and Secretary SGA&CDwere directed to convene a meeting to resolve this issue. They were also directed to come with some viable solution so that the matter may be disposed of accordingly.

4. Keeping in view the aforesaid directions, meeting was convened on 14-03-2016 in which Secretary Finance, Special Finance Secretary, Additional Secretary Irrigation Department, Secretary Sindh Agriculture and Drainage Authority Hyderabad, Additional Finance Secretary (B&E) Finance Department, Additional Finance Secretary (Admin/SR) Finance Department, Deputy Secretary (G),SGA&CD, Deputy Secretary (SR-I/Admin) Finance Department, Deputy Secretary (B&E-II) Finance Department, Section Officer (Legal-II) Finance Department, and Section Officer Irrigation Department Government of Sindhparticipated and after deliberation on the agenda they have reached to the following decision which is reproduced as under:-

“Decision:

After threadbare discussion, it was unanimously decided that:

(1) SIDA will decide the subject matter at their own level in its Board meeting, in accordance with the relevant Act / Ordinance of SIDA

(2) In case said Board feels that they are unable to bear the sufficient funds from their own resources and that the enhancement of Grant-in-Aid from Government of Sindh is essential, SIDA may approach after approval of the competent forum of SIDA through Administrative Department i.e. Irrigation Department, for enhancement in the Grant-in-Aid in the budget estimates 2016-17”

5. The learned A.A.G in presence of the Secretary SIDA, Mr. Khurram Aziz Shaikh andMr.Muhammad Arshad, Section Officer Finance Department proposed that in terms of the decision taken in the meeting and the minutes of 33^rd Meeting of SIDA Board, this petition may be disposed of with the directions to initiate the process of regularization. The learned counsel for the petitioners is also satisfied on this proposal.

6. By consent, this petition is disposed of with the directions to the Respondents to initiate and complete the regularization process of the Petitioners within Ninety (90) days.

7. At this juncture Mr.Ali Assadullah Bullo learned counsel invited our attention to the M.A No. 12744 of 2016 moved under Order 1 rule 10 CPC. The learned counsel wants to implead the Interveners in this Petition but their proper particulars are not found in the application. The learned counsel agrees to file fresh petition with a better particulars and relevant documents of the interveners therefore; he does not want to press this application which is dismissed as not pressed.He may initiate appropriate proceedings independently in accordance with the Law.

J u d g e

BrohiPA