JAGABANDHU TUNGA Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner No.1 who is the Member of Local Fund Service and is serving in Cuttack Municipal Corporation and Petitioner No.2 the General Secretary of Class -III Employees Union, represented by Baikunthanath Rout posted in the Corporation as Head Assistant, have filed this writ application claiming all the time scale of pay and other allowances as are admissible to the Govt. employees of similar cadre. In paragraph 9 of the writ application, it has been stated that the initial appointment of the L.F.S. employees is like the State Govt. Employees and they are doing similar work like election work of both Parliament as well as Assembly as Presiding Officers and Polling Officers, Census work in concerned local body areas, cyclone and flood work through the control rooms and preparation of voter lists etc. But the benefits which have been provided to the Govt. Employees have not been extended to Class -III employees of Urban Local Bodies. Moreover, they are also transferred like Govt. Employees form one urban local body to another. It has further been stated in the writ application that the authorities do not extend the benefit of the report of the 5th Pay Commission for which earlier also the petitioners had filed writ application in this Court registered as the OJC No.1186/2001 which was disposed of vide order dated 16.11.01 with a direction to consider the representation of the petitioners and to intimate them the result thereof. The Govt. have framed the Orissa Local Fund Service Rules, 1975 (for short 'the Rules) which have already come into force vide notification SRO No. 588/1975 dated 18th August,1975.

(2.) IN the counter -affidavit filed on behalf of the O.Ps 1 and 2, it has been stated that there are so many posts of Urban Local Bodies which are under the Local Fund Service Cadre, constituted under Sub -rule (1) of Rule 3 of the Rules required to be filled up on the basis of the recommendation of the Selection Board constituted under Rule 7 of the Rules at Government level whereas the selection and appointment of non -LFS Cadre employees is made by the Selection Committee under Section 75 of the Orissa Municipal Act, 1950 (for short 'the Act), at Municipality level. But both the Local Fund Service Cadre employees and non -Local Fund Service Cadre Employees are the Municipal Employees. Their pay and allowances are being paid form the Municipal Fund, out of their own sources of income and the Government bear certain portion towards pay and allowances of the non -teaching posts, which have been created prior to 1.1.74 and teaching posts created prior to 1.11.1976. Further it has been mentioned therein that in case the employees of Local Fund Service Cadre will be allowed to get time scales of pay and allowances as admissible to Government employees of similar cadre, it will create discrimination among the Municipal employees and also lead towards administrative difficulties, since the number of non -Local Fund Service Cadre Employees are much more than the Local Fund Service Cadre. employees. Relevant portion of the counter -affidavit is reproduced as under: - "xx xx the following posts of Urban Local Bodies coming under the Local Fund Service Cadre, Constituted under Sub -rule (1) of Rule 3 of the Orissa Local Fund Service Rules, 1975. 1. Executive Engineer 2. Assistant Executive Engineer

(3.) JUNIOR Engineer