(1.) Daljit Singh Riar and others through present petition filed by them under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seek writ in the nature of mandamus directing the respondents to pay to them the Rural Area Allowance on the pattern as admissible to the Punjab State employees who are similarly situated.
(2.) It is the case of the petitioners that the respondent-State of Punjab had decided to introduce Grant-in-aid Rules w.e.f. March 22, 1968 under which the Privately Managed Recognised Schools were granted parity of pay scales and allowances and the Government undertook to pay 95% of the grant-in-aid to the teachers and allied staff payable to the Privately Managed Recognised Schools' staff at the rate at which their counterparts in Government schools were paid and the Management was required to meet only 5% of the deficit on this account. The petitioners are working against the aided posts in the said schools which are getting 95% grant-in-aid from respondent-State. The employees of the Privately Managed Recognised Aided Schools had been pressing for parity of pay scales and allowances with the employees of the same status in Government service. Punjab State enacted an Act known as the Punjab Privately Managed Recognised Schools Employees (Security of Service) Act, 1979, governing the employees of such schools. Section 7 of the Act aforesaid reads thus:-
(3.) In pursuance of the recommendations of the 3rd Punjab Pay Commission, there had been revision of pay scales and allowances of the Punjab State employees effective from January 1, 1986. In the year 1988 the Punjab State discontinued certain allowances payable to its employees and instead made a uniform policy of paying house rent Allowance to the employees posted in cities/towns and Rural Area allowance to those who were posted in the rural areas. The instructions with regard to payment of Rural Area Allowance were issued vide letter dated August 30, 1988 (Annexure P.1). This facility was, however, not extended to the employees of the Privately Managed Recognised schools. As mentioned above, it is this allowance which has been asked for in the present petition.