@JUDGMENTTAG-ORDER
D.G.R. Patnaik, J.@mdashThe petitioner has filed the instant writ application in his capacity as Divisional Secretary of the Jharkhand Rural Level Workers Association, V.L.Ws, working within the State of Jharkhand.
2. The petitioner has prayed for an appropriate writ/order for quashing the order dated 7.7.2006 (Annexure-5), issued by the Deputy Commissioner, Hazaribagh (respondent No. 2) as well as the order dated 7.2.2005 (Annexure-4), issued by the Special Secretary, Department of Agriculture and Sugarcane Development, Government of Jharkhand, Ranchi, whereby the Dy. Commissioner as well as the Jt. Secretary refused to fix the salary of the petitioner at Rs. 5,000-8,000/- and have instead fixed the salary of the petitioner, at Rs. 4,500-7,000/- on his completion of 12 years of continuous service.
3. The case of the petitioner in brief is that there are as many as 116 V.L.Ws in the district of Hazaribagh all of whom were appointed after following all the procedures and norms applicable for such appointment.
4. By a Resolution No. 660 (F)(2) dated 8.2.1999. Issued by the Finance Department, Government of Bihar, Patna, the pay-scale of the employees of the State. Government was revised with effect from 1.11.1996. By the aforesaid Resolution, the State Government had decided to abolish the scheme of Time Bound Promotion and Selection Grade as earlier discussed in the Resolution No. 6021 of the Finance Department, dated 18.12.1999. A Revised pay-scale was fixed at Rs. 4,000-6,000/-.
5. A subsequent Resolution of the Finance Department was issued in the month of August, 2002, clarifying under Clause 3 of the Resolution that service of the Government employees, will be governed by virtue of "padsopan" in the matter of promotion.
6. The contention of the petitioner is that in terms of the Resolution of 2002, if a V.L.W. completes 12 years'' of continuous service, he is entitled to get the promotion on the post of Block Agriculture Officer in the pay-scale of Rs. 5,000-8,000/-. Likewise on completion of 24 years of continuous service in a particular post, the Government employee is entitled to get the next promotion and if such next promotional post is not available, then he will be entitled to get the monetary benefit of the next Higher Grade i.e. Rs. 6500-10,500/-, which is the scale of the post of Sub-Divisional Agriculture Officer.
7. It is further contended that since under the Resolution of the Finance Department of August, 2002, the service of the employee is to be governed by "padsopan" in the matter of promotion, the rule should apply to the V.L.W.s also. Since the next promotional post in the cadre of V.L.Ws after completion of 12 years of continuous service is the post of Block Agriculture Officer, the scale of pay of the V.L.W. on their attaining the eligibility for promotion to the next higher post, should be Rs. 5,000-8,000/- and if such post is not available, then at least the scale of pay of the higher post should be fixed at Rs. 5,000- 8,000/- and likewise, for those VLWs, who have completed 24 years of continuous service, the pay-scale should be fixed at Rs. 6500-10, 500/-.
8. The grievance of the petitioner is mat by the impugned Notification, the respondent No. 2 has wrongly fixed the pay-scale of the V.L.Ws, who have completed 12 years of continuous service, at Rs. 4,500 7,000/- and for those who have completed 24 years of service, at Rs. 5,000-8,000/-. The further grievance of the petitioner is that the decision of the respondent No. 2 is based on pick and choose policy, since on the one hand the employees, namely, the clerks working in the collectorate have been allowed the scale of Rs. 5,000-8,000/- i.e. the scale of the Head Clerks by applying the principles of "padsopan" after abolition of the Time bound promotions, but the same principle has not been applied to the V.L.Ws.
9. Earlier the petitioner had moved this Court for the same grievance vide WP (S) No. 2601 of 2004. The writ petition was disposed of by order dated 4.5.2004, with a liberty to the petitioners to file a representation before the Deputy Commissioner, Hazaribagh and with a direction to the Deputy Commissioner to dispose of the representation by passing a reasoned order within two months from the date of production of a copy of the order. The petitioner accordingly, filed the representation but when the same was not disposed of within the stipulated period, a contempt petition vide Contempt (civil) Case No. 1012 of 2004 was filed. The contempt petition was dropped by order dated 21.7.2006 on the ground that in compliance with the order of this Court in the earlier writ application, the respondents had passed a reasoned order on the representation of the petitioner, thereby complying with the order.
10. Challenging the impugned order of the Special Secretary (respondent No. 6), learned Counsel for the petitioner submits that the order was purportedly passed on the basis of a letter No. 1116. dated-17.7.2003 issued by Director, Agriculture, Government of Jharkhand, Ranchi but without application of mind and without considering the spirit of the letter. Learned Counsel explains that the letter No. 1116 dated 17.3.2003 (Annexure-6) unequivocally declares that in view of the principles of "padsopan" the V.L.Ws. after completing 12 years of continuous service, are entitled to the next promotional post of Block Agriculture Officer with the corresponding initial payscale of Rs. 5,000-8,000/-. The respondents, according to learned Counsel, cannot therefore deny the benefit of the higher payscale of Rs. 5,000-8,000/- to the V.L.Ws. who have completed 12 years of service in their post.
11. Counter affidavit has been filed on benalf of the respondent-State. While denying and disputing the entire claims of the petitioner, the stand taken by the respondents is that the petitioner is working on the post of V.L.W. in Mandu Block of Hazaribagh District. The post being in the class III of the Government service and the basic grade of the V.L.W. is fixed in the pay-scale of Rs. 4,000-6,000/- with effect from 1.11.1996 as per the resolution No. 660 (F)(2) dated 8.2.1999, issued by the Finance Department, Government of Bihar (Annexure-A). The aforesaid Resolution, which was applicable to the V.L.Ws fixing the aforementioned pay-scale on promotion, remained unchallenged.
12. Later, by Resolution No. 5207 (F), dated 14.8.2002 and letter No. 2474 dated 20.9.2003, the respondent No. 2 had sanctioned the first and second A.C.P.s to the Government servants after completion of 12 years and 24 years of continuous service at the next higher pay-scale of Rs. 4,500-7,000/- and RS. 5,000-8,000/- and the same was made applicable to the V.L.Ws with effect from 9.8.1999 along with all other employees of the Hazaribagh district vide Memo No. 421 dated 7.12.2003 (An-nexure-B).
13. Pursuant to the orders passed by this/Court in the earlier writ application filed by the petitioner, the respondent No. 2 had received the representation filed by the petitioner and since the decision on the same would affect the whole cadre of the V.L.Ws of the State of Jharkhand, therefore, the respondent No. 2 sought instructions from the Secretary, Finance Department, Government of Jharkhand on the matter vide his letter dated 8.9.2004 (Annexure-C). The Secretary, Finance Department, State of Jharkhand, in his turn, sought for the comments of the Joint Secretary of the Agriculture and Sugarcane Development Department, State of Jharkhand asking for the rules of service of the V.L.Ws. From the reply communication issued by the Special Secretary to the Government in the Department of Agriculture and Sugarcane Development, dated 7.2.2005, it was informed that the scale of pay of the members of the ''Jharkhand Rajya Jansevak Sangh'', working as Village Level Workers (V.L.W.s) was fixed at Rs. 4,000-6,000/- and the next higher scale on completion of 12 years of continuous service was fixed at Rs. 4,500-7.000/- and on completion of 24 years of service at Rs. 5,000-8.000/-, as A.C.P. This was made on the basis of Assured Career Progression (A.C.P.) Scheme to those V.L.Ws, who were working prior to 8.2.1999. It was also informed that those V.I.Ws who were appointed after 8.2.1999, their basic scale of pay was fixed at Rs. 3200-4,900/- and on completion of 12 years of service at Rs. 4,000-6,000/- and likewise on completion of 24 years of service at Rs. 4.500-7,000/-.
14. Learned Counsel for the respondents would explain that in the impugned order passed by the respondent No. 2 in accordance with the aforementioned Government circular, there is no illegality or infirmity in the pay-fixation as made by the respondent No. 2. It is further submitted that the revised payscales of the V.L.Ws. as per the Government circular, as stated above, was in accordance with the recommendations of the 5th Pay Revision Committee, therefore the same cannot be challenged at this stage.
Controverting the petitioner''s claim that the service of the Government employees will be governed by virtue of the principles of "padsopan" in the matter of promotion and the benefit thereof, should be given to the V.L.Ws. also, it is stated by the respondents that the V.L.Ws. are not governed by "padsopan", since the revised pay-scales of the V.L.Ws, has been separately fixed and they are to be guided, according to the rules applicable to them. Learned Counsel for the respondents explains that the terms "padsopan", has wrongly been interpreted by the petitioner as promotion'', whereas in fact it denotes only A.C.P. The respondent No. 2 does not have any authority to promote the V.L.Ws to the post of Block Agriculture Officer. It is further explained by the respondents that both in the letter dated 7.2.2005 (An-nexure-4) and letter dated 28.4.2005 (Annexure-4/A), it has been specifically stated that the V.L.Ws who have completed B.Sc (Agriculture) are eligible for getting promotion on the post of Block Agriculture Officer or equivalent post up to 25 per cent of the total vacancy available in the post under the Departmental terms and conditions. As such, promotion to the post of Block Agriculture Officer cannot be granted merely on the ground that the V.L.Ws has completed 12 years of service.
15. From the rival pleadings of the parties, it appears that the petitioner''s claim is on the basis of his completion of 12 years and 24 years'' of continuous service and on the ground that since the State Government has acknowledged by its Resolution No. 683, dated 20.3.2007 (Annexure-8), pursuant to the orders of the Jharkhand High Court passed in W.P. (S) No. 2128 of 2005 that the Block Agriculture Officers are entitled to get the benefit of "padsopan", (A.C.P.), then the V.L.Ws should also be made entitled to get the promotional post of Block Agriculture Officer and in absence of vacancy in the said post, to get the pay scale of the higher post. This claim is made on the further assumption that the cadre of employees, working in the Agriculture Department is the same and the post of the V.L.Ws is the entry post in the cadre of which the next promotional post is the post of the Block Agriculture Officer.
16. To understand the controversy in better perspective, reference to the Resolution of the Government of Bihar in its Department of Finance, dated 13th February, 1999 (Annexure-A), may be had. The Resolution is in respect of a revision of scale of pay of the State Government employees on the basis of the recommendations of the Fitment Committee. The revised scales of pay was made effective from 1st January, 1996 whereas, the actual payment of the pay-scales was made effective from 1st April, 1997. The revised scales applied to all Government servants, who were in service on 1st January, 1996. Instructions regarding the method of fixation of pay as approved by the Government, have been given in Schedule IV of the Resolution.
By the aforesaid Resolution, the then existing facility of the Time Bound promotions and the Selection grades were abolished with effect from 1st January, 1996.
17. Pursuant to the aforesaid Resolu-on {Annexure-A), the State Government in its Department of Agriculture had fixed the revised pay-scale of "jansevaks" (V.L.Ws) in respect of those V.L.Ws who are in service prior to 8.2.1989 at Rs. 4,000- 6,000/- with first A.C.P. after completion of 12 years of continuous service at Rs. 4500-7,000/- and the second A.C.P after completing 24 years at Rs. 5,000-8,000/-. For the new entrants appointed after 8.2.1989, the initial pay-scale was fixed at Rs. 3200-4,900/-and the first A.C.P. at Rs. 4,000-6.000/- and the second A.C.P. at Rs. 4,500-7,000/-.
18. It would also appear from the Resolution of the State Government in the Department of Agriculture (Annexure-H), that promotion to the post of Block Agriculture Officers can be given to only those V.L.Ws who possess a B.Sc. Degree in Agriculture and have completed a minimum period of eight years of service. Such promotions are to be guided, only according to the procedure laid down for grant of promotions and against 25 per cent vacancies in the said post. It is apparent that merely by virtue of his longstanding service of over 8 years, a V.L.W is not entitled to an automatic promotion to the post of Block Agriculture Officer. Such promotion can be granted to him only on his qualifying for the same and in accordance with the Rules prescribed. The scale of pay applicable to the V.L.Ws and pay applicable to Block Agriculture Officers at the entry levels, have been separately fixed by the State Government in the Department of Agriculture in accordance with the State Government''s Resolution, issued through the Finance Department, pursuant to the recommendations of the 5th Pay Revision Commission. The increments in the pay-scales on the basis of the A.C.P. have also been fixed, separately for each of these posts. The post of V.L.W. Is that of a Class III Government employee and the same cannot be merged with the post of Block Agriculture Officer and above in the hierarchy of the cadre, even though the V.L.Ws may aspire to be promoted to the post of Block Agriculture Officer, subject to their attaining the requisite qualification.
19. The contention of the petitioner that under the "padsopan scheme" the V.L.Ws are entitled to the higher pay-scale of Block Agriculture Officer is apparently misconceived and based on a wrong premise.
20. For the reasons discussed above, I do not find any merit in this writ application. Accordingly, this writ application is dismissed.
