TAPAN KUMAR MAJHI Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE question involved in these five writ applications being similar, they were heard analogously and are being disposed of by this common judgment.

(2.) THE petitioners, who were working as Non -Formal Education Facilitators, had prayed for a direction to the opposite parties to pay them the regular pay scale as is being paid to the Primary School Teachers in the State and extend to them other consequential benefits from the date of their initial appointment. The further prayer is for a direction to the opposite parties for disbursing the differential arrear salary accrued to them from the date of their appointment. In substance, the claim of the petitioners is that since they are discharging the same duties as of the primary school teachers, they are entitled to same scale of pay and other service benefits which are being paid/extended to the primary school teachers.

(3.) IN support of the contentions of the opposite parties, the learned Additional Government Advocate invited our attention to Annexure -B/2 -a resolution of the Government of Orissa in the Education & Youth Services Department with respect to the Non -formal Facilitators which guidelines were framed in pursuance of the Government of India letter. The extracts from the said guidelines (which are relevant for our purpose) read thus :