AJK govt approves 'inflated' allowance for 'lent officers'.

MUZAFFARABAD -- NotwithAstanAding its publicly expressed grievances regarding paucity of funds, the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government has approved an 'inflated' allowance in favour of two 'lent officers' in a move that has drawn flak from the civil society.

According to a notification issued by the finance department, the chief secretary and inspector general of police (IGP) would get Rs400,000 and Rs375,000 per month, respectively, as 'superior executive allowance' from Dec 1, and the amount - Rs 5.44 million in the ongoing fiscal year - would be adjusted in the revised budget estimates for 2020-21.

The chief secretary, IGP and finance secretary are among five officers posted in the AJK by the federal government and are commonly referred to as 'lent officers.'

Although the notification was issued late last month, it was kept secret instead of its circulation to all offices concerned as a common practice.

Chief secretary, IGP will get Rs400,000, Rs375,000 per month from Dec 1

When contacted by Dawn, Finance Minister Dr Najeeb Naqi defended the step, saying since all four provinces and Gilgit-Baltistan were giving this allowance to their chief secretaries and IGPs, the AJK government had 'just followed the suit for the sake of uniformity'.

However, when asked if it was binding upon the AJK government to follow every move by the provinces, particularly when it was on record about shortage of funds, he maintained that this grant would not have any 'major monetary implications'.

He said the government had taken the decision after a summary to this effect was moved by the Services and General Administration Department (S and GAD), citing examples from other provinces.

S and GAD Secretary Dr Liaquat Husain told Dawn that the decision was taken on the basis of 'parity' with other provinces.

'These officers are at a loss in terms of salary as compared to their colleagues in other provinces,' he said.

The finance department has repeatedly held that there is no parity with other provinces (mainly the Punjab) and has warned employees from time to time against citing this principle to gain any...