HYDERABAD, March 5 All district and regional heads of government departments have been directed to appoint liaison officers or focal persons for attending the proceedings and enabling the management of regional Ombudsman offices for speedy disposal of cases. This was stated by Additional Chief Secretary of Sindh ombudsman secretariat, Fasihuddin Khan.

The directive was forwarded during a meeting of EDOs and officers of the Hyderabad Development Authority. The main purpose of the institution of ombudsman was to provide easy and speedy justice to people free of cost as delays were being experienced due to the non-cooperative attitude of some departments, he said. Some 4,500 cases were pending in all 13 regional offices of ombudsman, including more than 800 in Hyderabad.

The Ombudsman wields power to punish for contempt and proceedings are initiated against the officers defying decisions of Ombudsman while their failures would also be entered in their annual confidential reports, he said.

The government was making efforts for speedy disposal of cases to provide easy justice and redress the grievances of people without any cost through the offices of Regional Ombudsmen, he said.

He said that for this purpose 13 regional offices of Ombudsman were functioning while establishment of five more were in the process.

He said many cases of minor nature could be resolved by the concerned departments and directed the officers to remain accessible and redress problems of people at their own level.

He said that before taking up cases for investigation, the Regional Ombudsman would give a chance to concerned departments through telephonic conversion for the resolution at their level failing which it would be brought under inquiry, he said.

The government undertook legislation, appointed an inquiry committee and initiated development work after Ombudsman took suo motu action against the supply of polluted water to the people of Hyderabad in 2004, marketing of gutka/mainpuri and organising a seminar 'Save Hyderabad', he said.

The DCO Hyderabad, Aftab Ahmed Khatri said that the district government was supplying 100 per cent pure drinking water to its citizens while his management was depositing the amount of benevolent fund in bank accounts of beneficiaries.

He said that a cut off date had been given to all heads of district departments for preparing cases of retired employees to pay their G.P. Funds in addition to the release of pension.

He said that most complaints were of encroachment and the district government needs heavy police force for removing them.

He assured full cooperation to Ombudsman's regional offices for speedy disposal of cases.

All EDOs and officers of HDA attended the meeting held in Shahbaz building.

Later, Fasihudding Khan visited the Hyderabad regional Ombudsman office along with the Registrar of his Secretariat Masood Ishrat and Hyderabad Regional Director Ghulam Rabbani Agro.

He took a round of all offices and checked the record of on-going and pending cases. He met with the officers and complainants and inquired about their problems and heard 10 cases of different nature and issued directives for speedy disposal.

He directed the government functionaries to provide assistance and cooperate to common man and asked the management to identify the bottlenecks coming in the way of cases.

Ghualm Rabbani Agro briefed Fasihuddin Khan on regional office's performance and told him that more than 1,000 cases were taken in hand of which more than 60 per cent had been provided relief since its establishment in 2002.

He said that more than 800 cases were pending for investigation against government agencies reflecting the confidence of people in the institution of Ombudsman.

Mr Khan expressed his satisfaction over the performance of Regional office Hyderabad and stressed the need for close coordination with government institutions for their prompt feedback which was essential for early disposal of cases.