MUSHAHID BEG Vs. STATE OF U P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners of all these three writ petitions were initially appointed as Tubewell Operators in the Irrigation Department, After the 73rd amendment in the Constitution of India, the State Government issued an order on 12.4.1999 in order to implement the scheme of decentralization of powers wherein the work of several department of the State Government namely Primary Education, Anaupcharik Shiksha, Government Tubewell, Rural Water Supply, Medical Health and Family Planning, Veterinary Medical Services, Youth Welfare and Social Welfare, Women Welfare and Child Development, Cane Land Development and Water Resources, Agriculture, Food, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department were given under the complete control of Gram Panchayats. The Tubewell Operators, Seenchpal (Tubewell) and Seenchpal (Canal) were appointed on the post of multipurpose employee by way of transfer of their services from the Irrigation Department of the State Government and the petitioners were also appointed as multipurpose employee/Gram Panchayat Vikas Adhikari. The Tubewell Operator cadre was declared as dying cadre on 5.5.1999 as contained in Annexure-3. Later on, U.P. Panchayat Raj Act, 1947 was amended. Since the earlier order dated 12.4.1999 was technically defective, the State Government after exercising the power under the Amending Act issued fresh orders in accordance with the provisions of Sections 25 and 25A (as amended). Under the Amending Act, the State Government was empowered to transfer any employee or class of employee serving in connection with the affairs of the State to serve under the Gram Panchayat. On 20.7.2004, certain group of employees namely Kisan Sahayak of Agriculture Department, Cane Supervisor of Cane Development and Gram Vikash Adhikari of Rural Development were sent back to their parent department and the remaining employees of the other department including the petitioners were required to be posted for the purpose of formation of clusters of the Gram Panchayat. In this Government order also, it was provided that the employees of these departments who have been sent to the parent department will continue to perform their function under the administrative and financial control of the Gram Panchayat. It is alleged that now after elapse of more than six years, State Government has issued an order dated 19.7.2005, Annexure-1 by which the petitioners tubewell operators have been sent back to the Irrigation Department. According to the direction in this Government order, all the Government Tubewells along with its belongings have been returned back to the Irrigation Department and the persons working as Gram Panchayat Vikas Adhikari likewise the petitioners have been posted as Tubewell Operators/Part time Tubewell Operators under the control of the Irrigation Department. It is this Government order dated 19.7.2005 which has been challenged in all the three writ petitions.

(2.) The main ground to challenge this order is that the opposite parties had no occasion to make any provision to keep the petitioner under the control of the Gram Panchayat after their repatriation and on this score, the impugned Government order dated 19.7.2005, is liable to be struck down. It is also contended by the petitioners that since the cadre of tube-well operators is not revived and therefore, the impugned Government order dated 19.7.2005, cannot be implemented. The next contention of the petitioner is that all the part time tubewell operators were declared full time tubewell operators by this Court in Writ Petition No. 3558 (S/S) of 1992 : Suresh Chandra Tiwari and Ors. v. State of U.P. and Ors.

(3.) Uttar Pradesh Gram Panchayat Adhikari Sangh through its President have moved an application for their impleadment to oppose the Writ Petition No. 4779 (S/S) of 2005.