HYDERABAD: The Sindh High Court has ordered removal of all the junior officers in provincial health department, including director general of health Sindh, who held positions meant for senior grade officers under any job title like “own pay scale (OPS)”, “allowed-to-work” and “acting in-charge”.

A division bench of SHC Karachi comprising Justices Salahuddin Panhwar and Adnanul Karim Memon had passed the order on Sept 21 on a number of identical petitions pending a decision before the court, directing Sindh health secretary Dr Kazim Ali Jatoi to comply with the order. The bench had given three days’ time for compliance.

“In case, at any stage this statement is found improper or wrong, secretary health will be liable to be charged under contempt of court act as well as beneficiaries posted on higher grade positions,” read the order.

“Needless to mention that the directives ‘assigned to work’ shall not be exploited by the health department by posting of officials of lower grade on higher grade positions,” Justice Panhwar ruled.

The health department submitted a report to the court which put number of junior officers working on higher grade positions at 36. “The secretary shall ensure that specific directives in this regard are not infringed in future. If so, the same shall leave a room for legal action against the delinquent,” said Justice Panhwar in the order.

The court asked the health secretary whether the post of DG health had been filled by a BS-20 officer and he replied that at present a BS-19 officer was “acting in-charge” of the BS-20 position. “The directives were/are of general application and no ‘post’ has exception from them,” said the order.

Accordingly, the bench said, para-5 and 8 (of the previous order) had been modified and all the OPS, “acting in-charge” and “allow-to-work” officer shall be removed including DG Health within three days.

The secretary submitted a compliance report in line with Sept 1 directive of the court, mentioning formation of (hospital management) board for all tertiary hospitals of Sindh as approved by Sindh chief minister.

The court said that constitution of the board was a good sign. “Accordingly, vice chancellors who are chairpersons of the board shall ensure meeting of the board and ‘they shall take over all the responsibilities’. Medical superintendent will be completely responsible before the board and in urgent matter before the chairman of the board,” it said.

The health secretary referred to a proposal by him that one-line budget be provided to tertiary hospitals. “We appreciate such proposals because one-line budget shall enable tertiary hospitals to receive directly what they are entitled to,” said the bench.

“Accordingly, secretary of finance shall ensure that the single-line budget as proposed by the secretary of health for all tertiary hospitals is implemented from October. The re-appropriation of the fund shall be made keeping up the spirit of the above proposal and the board shall be competent to re-examine the same and fill post of director of finance within three months,” said the order.

Till then, the order said, director of administration and any member nominated by the board would be co-signatory of the budget with the MS as an interim measure and they would be answerable before the board for ensuring transparency in the entire process.

About the previous order passed by Justice Panhwar at Hyderabad circuit bench in 2017 regarding formation of committees at district level for revised schedule of new establishments (SNEs) regarding district, taluka and tertiary level hospital, the secretary of health said he would submit detailed reports in phases in three weeks.

The court granted him time and expected the secretary to show compliance of para-6 of the said order for which he could approach chief secretary.

The secretary stated that the mechanism applied to a teaching hospital was required to be replicated in district headquarter hospitals and at least one in a taluka in a district. It was to be done by creating different posts of various cadres through contract, he said.

The court appreciated his formula and said there was heavy burden of patients in each taluka, therefore, district hospitals would be regulated like teaching hospitals. “This exercise shall be completed within one month. Accordingly, the summary as prepared by health department shall be forwarded to the chief minister and then to be placed before cabinet,” said the order.

Published in Dawn, September 27th, 2021