ARUN KUMAR MANNA Vs. STATE OF WEST BENGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By the present writ petition the petitioners have inter alia prayed for a writ in the nature of Mandamus commanding the respondents to forebear from giving any effect or further effect to the impugned memorandum dated April 21, 2010 as also the notification dated August 28, 2002 issued by the Labour Department, Government of West Bengal, a writ in the nature of Mandamus commanding the respondents to give employment to the petitioners and/or their nominees in cognizance of the policy of the state impugned by certain notifications and for other reliefs.

(2.) The case of the petitioners inter alia is that they have been affected by the acquisition of their homestead and other cultivable lands by the state government for construction of Kolaghat Thermal Power Project ('the Project', for short). Those lands were requisitioned and acquired in the year 1975-76 under Act II of 1948 at the instance of the West Bengal State Electricity Board ('the Board', for short) and the West Bengal Power Development Corporation ('the Corporation', for short). The petitioners do not dispute that compensation for such acquisition were paid to them or their predecessor-in-interest.

(3.) The petitioners, however, claimed that the State of West Bengal had also adopted a policy for providing employment to one member of the family of the land evictees and pursuant thereto a local advisory committee was set up for the purpose of initial screening. The said committee scrutinized about a little more than 1300 applications and thereafter recommended for appointment of 356 persons. The Corporation and the Board invited applications for 321 vacancies out of which 307 had already been filled up.