(1.) THESE three writ petitions filed by the Kapus Ekadhikar Karmachari Sangh, which is a registered Trade Union for and on behalf of the seasonal employees working under the Aurangabad, Nanded and Parbhani Zones of the Maharashtra State Co-operative Cotton Growers Marketing Federation Ltd. , (Respondent No. 2) who is the successor of the Maharashtra State Co-operative Marketing Federation Ltd. (Respondent No. 3 ). By these petitions the petitioner Union is seeking a writ or directions in the nature of Mandamus against respondent No. 1 the State of Maharashtra to require respondent No. 2 to abide by the decision of the Government to implement the accepted recommendations of the Bhuibhar Committee Report and more particularly the recommendations under Clauses 15, 19, 23, 25, 26, 34 and 40, specially when these recommendations have been translated into an agreement dated 18-1-1984 between the petitioner Union and respondent No. 3.
(2.) BEFORE we deal with the merits of the case, it would be necessary to look into the creation and working of respondents Nos. 2 and 3. The State enacted the Maharashtra Raw Cotton Procurement, Processing and Marketing Act, 1971 (the Act for short) so as to enable the State Government to carry on the trade in raw cotton. The Act empowered the State Government to acquire raw cotton from the growers and other persons having stock thereof, get it ginned or pressed into bales, sell it in any form to consumers and others on behalf of the tenderers and pay them compensation. In short, the Act created a monopoly in favour of the State Government in so far as the trade in Raw Cotton is concerned. Section 42 (2) of the Act, lays down that the State Government may for the purpose of purchasing, selling, storing, processing, marketing and carrying on other business in cotton on its behalf, appoint agents for the whole State or specified areas on such terms and conditions that may be mutually agreed upon between the State Government and the agent concerned.
(3.) THE State Government appointed respondent No. 3 which is a Cooperative Society, as the Chief agent to implement the cotton monopoly procurement scheme under section 42 (2) of the Act. Accordingly, the respondent No. 3 acted as the Chief agent of the State Government for procurement, processing and marketing of cotton as well. For this purpose it recruited and maintained staff consisting of those who were needed through out the year and those who were needed only during the season. The cotton trade includes procurement, processing and marketing of cotton mostly in Vidharbha, Marathwada and Khandesh region of the State and commences roughly in the first week of November and extends upto April of the next year in these regions and whereas Western Maharashtra where there is comparatively less crop of cotton, the season commences in August and ends in the month of November of the same year. The cotton scheme introduced by the State Government has three aspects namely (a) Procurement, (b) Processing and (c) Marketing. The first two activities extend over four months in a year depending upon the extent of the availability of the crop and the third stage i. e. Marketing and also the function of maintenance of accounts are spread over the year. The seasonal employees are needed only for the first two stages namely procurement and processing which last for a limited period as stated above and these employees consist of weighment clerks, heap clerks, ginning supervisors and press supervisors etc. who work at the collection centres and the processing centres. The other category are the permanent employees who are required through out the year and most of whom attend to the third activity namely the marketing and the functions of maintaining accounts etc.