J KRISHNAMOORTHY Vs. STATE OF TAMIL NADU

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE present batch of writ petitions have been filed by the Rural Medical Officers working in the various dispensaries run by the panchayat Unions in the State of Tamil Nadu . Such Medical Officers are appointed from persons who have the following qualification: " (i)'a'Special: BIM, Medical Practitioners who have undergone Special Training for 4-1/2 years in a Government Recognised medical Institution Registered after 1972. (ii)'a'Class: LIM, Medical Practitioners who have undergone Training for 4 years in Government Recognised Medical Institutions and passed in the examination conducted by Government approved Board of examination. THE registration has been abolished for LIM from 1946 and ICIM from 1960. (iii)'b2'Class: B-II Medical Practitioners are those who have undergone special training for four years in Government approved Medical institutions / Gurukulam and obtained Diploma / Certificate having 10 years of continuous practice and passed in the written and oral tests as per the government approved syllabus (Siddha, Ayurvedha, Unani ). This was followed from 1972 to 1982. (iv)'b1'Class: B1 Class practitioners are those who have undergone continuous training in Ayurvedic system for four years in a government approved Medical Institutions and obtained Certificate / Diploma. THEy are not eligible to be appointed in the dispensaries of Siddha or Unani system. (v)'b'Class: B Class Medical Practitioners are those who have obtained Certificate from Tahsildar for Practising for 10 years as hereditary Medical Practitioner. (vi)'c'Class: C-Class Medical Practitioners are those who have undergone 6 months training as Village Vaidyas in a District Hospital . This has been abolished since 1954. " In cases where'a'Class registered practitioners are not available, B1, B2 and C Class registered hereditary Siddha and Homoeopathy Medical practitioners are appointed. Apart from the regular dispensaries, the Panchayat unions, the Town Panchayats and Townships also run rural dispensaries. In the rural dispensaries, the Medical Officers are appointed from B1, B2 and C Class registered hereditary medical practitioners. By G. O. No. 2446, Education and public Health Department (Public Health), 24. 9. 1937, the Government granted permission to medical practitioners in-charge of rural dispensaries subject to approval by the Presidents of Local Boards concerned to adopt 7 am to 10 am and 3 pm to 5 pm as working hours of rural dispensaries on week days instead of 7 am to 12 noon fixed by the earlier Government Order of the year 1935. By g. O. Ms. No. 1300, Rural Development and Local Administration Department, dated 22. 5. 1974, based on the representation from the Panchayat Union Employees, the government allowed the pensionary and gratuity benefits applicable to government servants be also made applicable to the Panchayat Unions, Town panchayats and Panchayat Township employees excluding the Panchayat Union Teachers, with effect from 1. 4. 1974. By g. O. Ms. No. 94, Indian Medicine and Homoeopathy Department, dated 31. 10. 1984, the government fixed the time-frame for working in the rural dispensaries as follows: "the Government may direct that the working hours of all the rural and regular dispensaries of Indian Medicine run by the local bodies and by the Government be fixed from 7. 30 am to 10. 30 am and from 3. 00 pm to 5. 00 pm and in respect of all the dispensaries functioning in hill stations from 8. 30 am to 11. 30 am and from 3. 30 pm to 5. 30 pm. "

(2.) ONE Dr. Krishnamurthy, a registered medical practitioner in Class B-II in the Register of Medical Practitioners, who was working as a medical practitioner in rural dispensary, appointed in 1976, approached the High Court by filing W. P. No. 863 of 1989 praying for payment of salary in the time scale of pay with effect from the date of his appointment. The Writ Petition was allowed and the High Court ordered payment of salary in time scale of pay with effect from 11. 7. 1985. The Government as well as the individual rural medical officer filed Writ Appeals challenging the order of the single Judge. The First Bench of this Court modified the order of the single Judge by holding that arrears of pay according to pay scale fixed by the single Judge shall be disbursed to the appellant-rural medical officer and similarly placed persons with effect from 1. 10. 1984. The High Court held that b2 Class registered medical practitioners are eligible for time scale of pay with effect from 1. 10. 1984. Following the judgment, the Government also issued orders in G. O. Ms. No. 16, Rural Development Department, dated 29. 1. 1998 allowing payment of salary in the time scale of pay with effect from 1. 10. 1984 to all the medical practitioners working in the rural dispensaries. After payment of salary as above, B1, B2 and C Class registered medical practitioners were working in rural dispensaries as stated above. Since the same has been categorised as a superior service, the authority, by letter dated 10. 8. 1998, clarified that as per F. R. 56 (1) (a), the age of retirement of medical practitioners working in the rural dispensaries who are allowed time scale of pay as stated above, is on attaining the age of 58 years instead of 60 years which was in vogue prior to the time scale of pay granted to rural medical practitioners.

(3.) IT is the contention of the petitioners in the original Applications that based on the order of the learned Single Judge in w. P. No. 863 of 1989 as confirmed by a Division Bench of this Court in W. A. No. 922 of 1995, the Government issued G. O. Ms. No. 16, Rural Development Department, dated 29. 1. 1998 allowing payment of salary in the time scale of pay with effect from 1. 10. 1984 to all the Medical Practitioners working in rural dispensaries. While the Rural Medical Practitioners were working in the time scale of pay and discharging their duties as regular employees of the Panchayat Unions, to their shock and surprise, G. O. Ms. No. 250, Rural Development Department, dated 14. 9. 2000 was issued, which reads as follows : "rural Development Department Panchayat Union rural Medical Officers Time Scale of pay granted Assessment of functioning of Rural dispensaries, filling up of vacancies and the eligibility of Rural medical officers for other benefits orders issued. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rural Development Department G. O. (M. S.)No. 250 Date: 14. 09. 2000 Ref: 1) G. O. (M. S.)No. 16, Rural Development Department, dated 29. 01. 1998. 2) The Director of Local Fund Audit letter Na. Ka. No. 30740/99/01 dated 30. 05. 1999. 3) The Director of Local Fund Audit letter Na. Ka. No. 18503/e3/97 dated 29. 07. 1999. 4) Government letter No. 29161/e5/98-12, Rural Development Department, dated 27. 09. 1999. 5) The Director of Rural Development, letter Na. Ka. No. 106744/98/e3 dated 29. 01. 2000. ---- ORDER There are two types of dispensaries regular dispensaries and part time rural dispensaries in the control of the Panchayat unions. Registered b1, B2, C hereditary practitioners were appointed on consolidated pay in the part time rural dispensaries and qualified doctors were appointed on time scale of pay in the regular dispensaries. The part time rural medical officers working in panchayat union were placed under the time scale of pay as per the orders of the Madras High Court from 01. 10. 1984 as Rs. 780-35-1025-40-1385 and rs. 1820-60-2300-75-3200 from 01. 06. 1998 onwards ordered as per the G. O. referred as item no. 1 in the reference. The Director of Rural Development informs that among the 345 part time rural medical officers in the panchayat unions who were placed in the scale of pay as per the government order; among this 93 are vacant; and 112 are qualified medical graduates or diploma holders; and 108 are B2 registered doctors. The remaining has studied up to Xth standard or below that. 2. Clarifications from the government were sought for that whether the rural medical dispensaries shall continue as part time dispensaries? Whether the vacancies of rural medical officers shall be filed up? Whether the rural medical officers are entitled for the other benefits that of other regular employees? The working hours of the rural medical officers and their responsibilities, further the graduate medical officers working in the panchayat union regular dispensaries if go for further studies whether they are entitled for full salary or stipend alone. Further the rural medical officers in the regular dispensaries whether entitled for rural allowance and personal pay as that of the medical officers working in the primary health centers? 3. The Government in consideration of the above issues in consultation with the Director of Rural Development and the Director of Local fund Audit issue the following orders. a) The basic norms like population and distance for opening a government dispensary are available in the Public Welfare Department. The functions of the rural dispensaries were not assessed so far. And therefore the Director of Government Developments is directed to assess the necessity of the present panchayat union dispensaries and their functions. The panchayat unions are therefore restrained from opening rural dispensaries till the government takes its decision on the assessment report. b) Since there are primary health centres and health centres are available in all the panchayats in Tamil Nadu the rural dispensaries shall function as part time dispensaries. c) The vacancies for the rural medical officers shall be filled up with part time rural medical officers by the panchayat unions appointing committees. The appointing committees has to take the advice of the district Public Welfare Officer for the appointments of the rural medical officers as per the (guidelines) in para 2 of G. O. M. S. No. 99, Rural Development department dated 24. 04. 1992. d) In the post of Rural Medical Officers at present graduates and certificate holders like B1, B2, C registered medical practitioners and of different qualifications are working. They are all doing the same work and they are all part time rural medical officers. Therefore without giving any discrimination as per the education qualification all of them has to be paid salary as per the orders of the High Court and as per g. O. M. S. No. 16, rural development department, dated 29. 01. 1998. e) Pension benefits are eligible only for the regular employees. The panchayat union rural medical officer post is a part time post and therefore the part time rural medical officers are not entitled for the pension benefits. The other terminal benefits applicable for regular employees like selection grade, special grade, compassionate ground appointments, group insurance, provident fund, encashment of earn leave and surrender are not applicable to the part time medical officers. f) The time scale of pay is paid to the part time rural medical officers as per the orders passed by the High Court. With regard to this the orders passed by the Director of rural development in k. No. 100744/98/e3 dated 16. 03. 1999 was issued without getting the prior permission from the government and it differs from the working hours of part time rural dispensaries as stipulated in G. O. M. S. No. 246, Rural Development, dated 15. 11. 1996. Therefore the director of rural development is empowered to pass revised orders with regard to the working hours and the responsibilities of the rural medical officers according to para 3 (b) above referred and in consultation with the Director of public health department. g) Considering the nature of work there is no necessity for post graduation for the post of panchayat union regular medical officers and part time rural medical officers. Those rural medical officers who were already under going post graduations are entitled only for stipend during that period. Since they are entitled for stipend they are not entitled for scale of pay during their further studies when they are not doing service in the panchayat unions. h) The medical officers in panchayat union rural dispensaries are appointed from the villages and further the responsibilities are less than that of the medical officers working in primary health centres and the government doctors. And therefore they are not entitled for rural allowance and personal pay. 4. The government order shall be communicated and shall be acknowledged to all the Commissioners of the Panchayat Unions and the district Collectors. 5. The government order is passed in concurrence with the finance Department A. S. No. 2627/fs/p/2000 dated 2000. (By the orders of the Governor) Ramesh Chandra Pandaa Government Secretary. "