1. MUNAWAR ALI KHAN (CHAIRMAN). ---Being dissatisfied with the Finance Department's U.O. No: FD(SR-IV) 2-15/84, dated 3-11-1992 whereby the said Department regretted its inability to accede to the proposal of Administrative Department (i.e. Health Department) to upgrade the posts of Hakeems from BPS-8 to BPS-15, the appellant, Hakeem Fakhrduddin first filed departmental appeal dated 8-9-1993 before the Chief Secretary but as the said appeal remained undecided obviously for a statutory period of 90 days, he field the present appeal before this Tribunal on 19-12-1993.
2. The factual background of the present appeal is as follows. The appellant was appointed as Hakeem (BPS-8) in District Sanghar vide order dated 24-11-1986 of the then Deputy Director; Health Services, Hyderabad Division. Prior to his appointment as many as eleven Hakeems working in Khairpur District were allowed the benefit of BPS-15, as personal to them until they held the existing posts vide Health Department's order dated 15th April, 1986. Again three more Hakeems of the same District were given similar benefit by Health Department's order dated 13th January, 1987.
3. Somehow the appellant carne to know about allowing the enhanced pay scale (BPS-15) to the Hakeems of Khairpur District by the end of January, 1988. He then made to representations, first dated 2-2-1988 and second dated 26-11-1988 for giving him the benefit of BPS-15. The matter was taken up with Finance Department which remained under correspondence until finally by the aforesaid U.O. Letter the said Department turned down the proposal of Health Department for up- gradation of the posts of Hakeems from BPS-8 to BPS-15. Hence the present appeal.
4. We heard Mr. Abdul Sattar Mughal for the appellant and learned A.A.-G. On behalf-of the official respondents. We also went through all the documents relevant for disposal of the appeal.
5. It is an admitted position that 15 Unani Hakeems working in Khairpur District were given enhanced pay scale BPS-15 by Health Department's to orders--one dated 15th April, 1986 and another dated 13th January, 1987. On the basis of the said orders, the argument of the appellant's learned counsel was that the appellant was entitled to the same benefit, because he to was Hakeem like the aforesaid Hakeems of Khairpur District. According to the learned counsel, Finance Department's refusal to extend the benefit of the enhanced scale to the Hakeems other than the Hakeems of Khairpur District amounted to discrimination violating the Articles 4 and 25 of the Constitution in reply to above argument, the learned A.A.-G. Submitted that the enhanced pay scale BPS-15 was allowed only to the Hakeems of Khairpur District whose case could not be placed at par with the case of other districts. Elaborating his view-point he stated that the posts of Hakeems existed in the defunct Khairpur State and the same were continued even after the State's merger first with the Province of West Pakistan and then with the Sind Province. In our opinion the submissions made by the learned A.A.-G. Carried a lot of weight. Moreover there was no unified cadre of Hakeems existing on Provincial basis, so that if the Hakeems of Khairpur District were allowed higher scale of pay, the same benefit could not be denied to the Hakeems of other districts. Obviously each district had its own cadre of Hakeems. The question of discrimination would therefore not arise if the benefit of enhanced scale was confined to the Hakeems of only one District Cadre. It was also possible that to cadres of Hakeems carrying higher and lower pay scales should exist side by side.
6. There was nothing wrong if some posts of Hakeems were in higher pay scale (BPS-15) and others in lower pay scale (BPS-8).
7. Apart from above, the posts of the Hakeems in Khairpur District have not been upgraded so that the Hakeems working in other districts should also agitate for similar up-gradation of their posts.
8. Had the posts been upgraded, their incumbents would have been promoted to higher grade posts.
9. But the higher pay scale (BPS-15) given to the Hakeems of Khairpur District was personal to them. It has been made clear in the relevant orders by which they were allowed enhanced pay scale, that they would enjoy that pay scale so long they held the existing posts. The considerations for giving higher pay scale as personal are totally different from those which are taken into account for adjusting the holders of posts after their posts are upgraded. In the latter case, either they are allowed to continue in the upgraded posts or they are promoted to such posts in accordance with the rules, depending upon the policy to be framed in this regard. Accordingly the appellant could advance his claim for higher pay scale if the posts of Hakeems in Khairpur District had been upgraded and their incumbents were adjusted either automatically or by way of promotion to the upgraded posts. But that was not the position. Since the higher pay scale given to the Hakeems of Khairpur District was personal to them, it was not clear what considerations influenced the authorities concerned for extending such benefit to them. Therefore the appellant could not be bracketed with those Hakeems for the purpose of allowing him the higher pay scale as personal to him. If the appellant also came from Khairpur District, he would in that case be a part of District Cadre of Hakeems of that District. As such he could perhaps justifiably raise a claim of equal treatment with other Hakeems of the same District.
10. Lastly we are of the view that up-gradation of a particular post or group of posts is matter of policy which can be decided by the authority concerned in its discretion. Unless its reluctance to upgrade a post or group of posts was arbitrary or capricious, it could not be compelled for doing so.
11. For above reasons, the appellant has absolutely no case and consequently appeal is dismissed with no orders as to costs.