VELAGAPUDI RAMAKRISHNA SIDDHARTHA ENGINEERING COLLEGE NON TEACHING STAFF ASSOCIATION Vs. GOVERNMENT OF ANDHRA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) ORDER: These three writ petitions question G.O.Ms.No.257, Labour Employment and Technical Education (EC. 2) Department, dated 7-10-1987, and can be disposed of by a common order.

(2.) Writ petition No. 16450 of 1989 filed on 21-11-1989 has been filed by Velagapudi Ramakrishna Siddhartha Engineering College Non-teaching Staff Association. According to the affidavit filed in support of the petition, the petitioner is an association for the welfare of the non-teaching staff and the petition has been filed hi a representative capacity. It is stated that the tution fee that can be collected by the college had been permitted to be increased from Rs.5,000/- to Rs.6,500/-by G.O.Ms.No.256, dated 7-10-1987, and in a connected G.O.Ms. No.257 of the same date, one of the conditions stipulated wasthat the pay and allowances to the teaching and non-teaching staff employed in private engineering colleges shall be paid as per U.G.C., and State Government scales respectively. It is stated that the said condition was not fulfilled by the college and upon representations made, the second respondent the Director of Technical Education issued a circular Memo No.E4/2892/89-1 dated 3-9-1989 directing the managements to implement the government scales of pay to non-teaching staff. The third respondent-college sought clarification whereupon the second respondent again issued a savingram dated 2-11-1989 calling for compliance. It is submitted that since the college was not complying with the said G.O., the petitioner made representations to which the third respondent college stated that the matter is under the examination of the Government. It is therefore prayed that as the third respondent was only delaying the implementation of the G.O., a writ of mandamus should be issued directing the third respondent-college to implement the G.O.

(3.) In the counter-affidavit filed on behalf of the Government, the facts stated in the petition are not disputed. It is stated that the tution fees and the intake of students have been increased from time to tune on condition that the pay and allowances to the staff should be in accordance with the Government scales and, consequently, the request of the petitioners is in accordance with the orders of the Government. In other words, the Government has supported the plea of the petitioner. The third respondent-college has filed a counter-affidavit stating that the action of the Government in passing the GO., was arbitrary and discriminatory in as much as lesser amount is permitted to be collected as fees in contrast to Muffakham Jah College of Engineering and Technology, Hyderabad, which was allowed to collect Rs.7,500/- per annum. It is stated that Section 7 of the A.P. Educational Institutions (Regulation of admission and prohibition of capitation fee) Act, 1983, did not empower the Government to prescribe the salary payable to the staff. It is also stated that the salary prescribed is high and bears no relation to the qualifications of the staff and the functions discharged by them which are not comparable to the government posts. It is therefore, pleaded that the writ petition should be dismissed as not maintainable. The petitioner has filed a reply affidavit stating that the amount collected by way of tution fees was quite insufficient for meeting revised pay scales payable to the non-teaching staff.