Fiza Bibi Ameen is a gold medal qualifier in BS Physics from Riphah International University, Islamabad. She also contributed a prize-winning submission to the HEC inter-university essay writing competition held in 2022. She enjoys researching and writing about science, technology, and informative topics in various niches. She is a freelance writer and may be contacted at [email protected].
Introduction
The Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) has served Pakistan for 65 years in power generation, water supply and drainage, irrigation, land prevention, flood control, and many other sectors. WAPDA, like other federal organizations, operates through a structural and divisional hierarchy. This article explores the aforementioned hierarchy.
Structural Hierarchy of WAPDA
Chairman
The organization is led by a chairman who is appointed by the government of Pakistan. The Establishment Division appointed the current chairman of WAPDA, Lt Gen (retd) Sajjad Ghani, to fill the vacancy left by former Chairman Lt Gen (retd) Muzammil Hussain. Muzammil Hussain’s tenure started in 2016 and ended in 2021. He was given an extension for another five years, from which he retired in 2022 due to personal reasons.
In WAPDA, the chairman has power and influence over decision-making as the head of the organization. All hierarchy levels below the chairman have their share of focus, while overall approval and decision-making are reserved for the chairman.
Members from the Water, Power, and Finance Wings
Members hold the most senior positions in the water, power, and finance departments (the three wings of WAPDA). They are in charge of overseeing their respective departments. Their responsibilities include the development of ongoing projects, the planning of new projects, and the timely implementation of projects as well as delivering reports to the chairman. For example, in a recent visit by a World Bank delegation, the members from the water, power, and finance wings also accompanied the chairman in briefing about the World Bank-funded ongoing projects.
General Managers (GM) at WAPDA
A general manager (GM) oversees a specific division, such as hydroelectric power, thermal power, irrigation, or finance. He ensures and monitors his department’s situation and provides necessary and timely reports to the member of the pertaining department. For example, the general managers for security, administration, and the Human Resource Division (HRD) are appointed to manage the respective areas.
Director Generals
As subordinates to the general manager, they supervise the allocated duty and report to the general manager. For example, the Human Resource Division general manager receives direct reports from four direct generals about the further divisions under HRD.
Secretary
The secretary of WAPDA is in charge of the secretariat’s day-to-day operations. He organizes and allocates time for meetings, records the decisions and directives, and coordinates with WAPDA’s water, power, and finance wings. Monitoring and implementation of authoritative decisions is also a part of the secretary’s role.
Projects Directors
A project director at WAPDA oversees every aspect of a project while taking into account its nuances from the reports provided by his subordinates. The project directors, in a nutshell, are in charge of all development, financial, and evaluation information of projects.
Assistant Directors
As the designation name implies, they assist the project directors corresponding to their department in the research and implementation of the project.
Project Chief Engineers
The engineering department for a specific project is led by the project chief engineer. It is the responsibility of the chiefs to lead the engineers and technicians on their team toward improvement to ensure the safety and efficacy of the project in an ever-changing landscape.
Engineering Faculty and Technicians
Engineering teams and technicians take the responsibility of translating the allocated sections of the ongoing projects and providing services for the under consideration ones.
Labor Workforce
Like the safe and proper functioning of other institutes, the labor workforce contributes as per the requirements and organizational culture of WAPDA.
Structural Hierarchy and WAPDA’s Water Wing
Water Wing divisions have been established throughout Pakistan, including the north, central, south, and northern areas divisions, implying that the domain of the Water Wing encompasses all provinces of Pakistan, as well as Azad Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan. The Water Wing is responsible for executing all water-related development projects be it the progress of under-construction dams or canals, the development of hydropower projects, or research in the water sector.
The member of the Water Wing is in charge of the overall water development projects. The project-specific zones for example Mangla, Meelum Mangla, and Diamer Basha projects, etc. also report to Water Wing members. The different developing levels of projects are covered by chief engineers associated with the projects. The project directors secure the direction of projects for their timely and effective translation as reality.
The general manager of finance (Water) is in charge of this wing’s financial affairs. Further service divisions, under the supervision of their heads, support the functioning of the Water Wing.
Structural Hierarchy and WAPDA’s Power Wing
Hydropower stations for power generation, licensed by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA), are managed and operated by the WAPDA’s Power Wing. This wing is also in charge of delivering energy to the NTDC (National Transmission & Despatch Company) grid system and invoice details to the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA-G). It also keeps an eye on the plans, setup, and equipment requirements for upcoming hydroelectric power plants.
Furthermore, the construction of new hydroelectric power plants, the equipment they necessitate, and providing the necessary training for the employees are also included here. The power member supervises all the ongoing and under-consideration projects under the power category. The respective directors, assistant directors, chief engineers leading the engineering team, and relevant workforce play their needed roles to translate the planned projects into reality. The general manager (finance) from the Power Wing supervises financial matters.
Structural Hierarchy and WAPDA’s Finance Wing
The Finance Wing oversees the WAPDA audit, accounts, finance, and costing administrative operations in addition to managing other financing operations. The finance member is the highest designation in this department. To assist him in his work, a team of individuals with a specified focus works under his supervision. The loans and grants from the federal and provincial governments, the money raised from the sale of WAPDA bonds, the loans from government approval, the foreign aid and loans from international agencies, etc. are all included in the Authority Fund, with a particular authority fund team.
Divisional Hierarchy of WAPDA
The Administration Division of WAPDA works through three divisions. First for human resource development, second for administration, and third for security. Each division employs a workforce and directs them for the organization’s projects and, thus, toward vision.
Human Resource Division (HRD)
WAPDA’s Human Resource Division (HRD) takes care to allocate and develop human resources at the organization. Here, the general manager of the division receives direct reports from four direct generals (DGs).
- DG (HR) is specified for the labor force and its welfare.
- DG (CM) focuses on career management (CM) for officers from the Water Wing.
- DG (CM) P&C considers transfer/posting, promotion, and deputation.
- DG (Recruitment) is further assisted by the recruitment cell in examinations to attract and recruit the best team.
Administration Division
The Administration Division of WAPDA, headed by the general manager (admin), is responsible for providing general services and welfare activities to employees. These services include transport and healthcare facilities (through the Medical Directorate). The provision of office equipment and space as well as property management is included in the administration division’s roles. It is also responsible for formulating the policies and procedures for the under-construction and under-observation projects.
Security Division
The general manager (security) leads the security team. The responsibilities of the Security Division include workplace and workforce security. The occupational safety of employees and the recruitment and deployment of the WAPDA Security Force are also included in the division’s roles. Furthermore, the formulation of security policies and procedures along with the training of the newly employed security team are included in Security Division’s role at WAPDA.
Conclusion
The structural hierarchy of WAPDA, with the chairman as the ultimate leader, includes members, general managers director generals, and other levels for all departments. For each project, there are designations of project directors and chief engineers to be filled in. The services of subordinates to chief directors and engineers serve the organization’s narrow focus efficiently. Each of the three wings at WAPDA implements the overall hierarchical structure of WAPDA to expedite the projects. The divisional hierarchy for administration, human resource, and security perform the allocated roles to ensure the overall flow, transparency, and performance of the organization. Hence, WAPDA owes the efficiency, transparency, and performance of its projects to its structural and divisional hierarchy.
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