1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION WRIT PETITION NO.8427 OF 2004 Maharashtra Rajya Zilla Parishad Krishi Tantrik Karmachari Sanghatana, Pune ...... Petitioner. v/s State of Maharashtra & Ors. ...... Respondents. ------ Mr. A.R. Pitale for the petitioner. Mr. A.H. Palekar, AGP for respondent Nos. 1 to 3. Mr. C.G. Gavnekar for respondent No.4. ------- CORAM : D.K. DESHMUKH & V.M. KANADE, JJ. DATE : 25th March, 2008 P.C.: 1. The petitioner, who is a Union of the Personnel holding the post of the agricultural officers and the extension officers under various Zilla Parishads in the State of Maharashtra, has filed this Petition, challenging the policy decision of the State Government that the Personnel working as agricultural officer in various Zilla Parishads whose services were borrowed by the State Government have to come back to Zilla Parishads because there work with the Government is over and that they should be sent to Zilla Parishads as and when there are vacancies in the post of agricultural officer in the Zilla Parishads. According to the petitioner, in 1981, the Personnel working as 2 agricultural officer under Zilla Parishads in the State were borrowed by the State Government alongwith the post. According to the petitioner, now, while Personnel are being sent back by the State Government, their post is being retained by the State Government. The consequence will be that these agricultural officers will occupy the posts under Zilla Parishads of agricultural officer which will become vacant will result in denying an opportunity of promotion to the extension officers who otherwise would be entitled to be considered for promotion against the vacant post. According to the petitioner, this is contrary to law. 2. It is the case of the State Government and the Zilla Parishads that, though, in the year 1981, services of of the Personnel working as agricultural officer in Zilla Parishads were borrowed by the State Government alongwith their post, the Government realized that in view of the provisions of section 261 of the Maharashtra Zilla Parishads and Panchayat Samitis Act, 1961 the State Government can borrow the services of the Personnel working under the Zilla Parishads but cannot transfer the post from Zilla Parishads to the State Government which was occupied by those Personnel and a Resolution was issued dated 03/07/1982 modifying the earlier Resolution and clarifying the position that though services of the Personnel working as agricultural officer with Zilla Parishads have been borrowed by the State Government, the post of agricultural officer which those Personnel were holding will continue to be with Zilla Parishads. According to the Government, now, the agricultural officers are no longer required by the State Government and, 3 therefore, they are now being sent to their employer viz. Zilla Parishads and, therefore, in order that there is no occasion for making any reversion, absorption of these agricultural officers is to be done gradually. The agricultural officers who are presently with the State Government are being sent to their respective Zilla Parishad as and when there are vacancies in the post of agricultural officer in their respective Zilla Parishad. According to the Government, this policy is in accordance with law and does not cause any loss either to the agricultural officer or to the extension officer and does not violate any law. 3. In the light of these rival submissions, we have perused the record. Perusal of the provisions of section 261(2)(b) shows that when the services of the Zilla Parishad Officers are placed at the disposal of the State Government, the officers continue to be borne on the appropriate cadres of the services under the Zilla Parishad and they continue to be paid their remuneration and other allowances by the Zilla Parishad to the State Government in accordance with the rules prescribed by the State Government in that behalf. The relevant provision reads as under:- "261. State Government' s Power to give direction regarding works and development schemes:- (1)........................... (2) (a).............................................................. 4 (b) when the services of the officers and staff of the Zilla Parishad are placed at the disposal of the State Government as aforesaid, they shall continue to be borne on the appropriate cadres of the services under the Zilla Parishad and shall continue to be paid their remuneration and other allowances by the Zilla Parishad to the State Government in accordance with the rules prescribed by the State Government in that behalf." Thus, it is clear that when the services of the Personnel employed by Zilla Parishad are requisitioned by the State Government, the Personnel work with the State Government but they continue to be borne on the appropriate cadres on the establishment of the Zilla Parishad. In other words, the post in which they work continues to be with the Zilla Parishad and they continue to be paid also by Zilla Parishad. It appears that initially the State Government, by mistake, transferred the said post but, thereafter, the aforesaid provisions were noticed by the Government and, therefore, a Government Resolution dated 3rd July, 1982 was issued. The relevant portion of the said Government Resolution reads as under:- "...........With a view to meeting the requirement of staff for this project a number of posts from various extension activities being implemented in the Local 5 Sector have been requisitioned under Section 261(2) of the Maharashtra Zilla Parishads and Panchayat Samities Act, 1961 vide Government Resolution referred to at Serial (2) to (4) above. Now it has been noticed that according to the provisions contained in Panchayat Samities Act, 1961 Government is only empowered to requisition the services of the staff working in the Zilla Parishads. The Act, in question, however, does not permit Government to requisition the posts. In view of this legal position Government is pleased to direct that the services of the staff working in the posts mentioned in those Resolutions and not the posts should stand requisitioned. Those Resolutions should accordingly to treated as modified to the extent mentioned above." Thus, from the perusal of the aforesaid portion of the said Government Resolution, it is clear that, in 1982, the post of the agricultural officer continued with the Zilla Parishad and that only Officers have been borrowed by the State Government under section 261. Therefore, there is no substance in the grievance made by the petitioner that even the posts of the agricultural officers were transferred from Zilla Parishads to the State Government. The posts 6 continued with the Zilla Parishads. It is possible that in those posts, Zilla Parishads may have made recruitments and those posts may be occupied and, therefore, when the question of sending back the agricultural officers to the Zilla Parishad arose, had they been sent in one installment, the respective Zilla Parishad would have been forced to revert the Personnel working as agricultural officer in order to make room for those Officers who are coming back from the State Government. In order to avoid the said possibility, the State Government decided that repatriation of these Officers to the Zilla Parishads should be in a phased manner and they should be sent back to Zilla Parishads only when there is vacancy in the post of agricultural officer in the respective Zilla Parishad. We find that the stand taken by the State Government is not only in accordance with law but it is a considerate decision and, therefore, does not call for any interference by this Court. We do not find that because of the policy decision of the State Government any right of members of the petitioner is violated in any manner. Petition, therefore, has no substance. It is dismissed. Rule is discharged with no order as to costs. (D.K. DESHMUKH, J.) (V.M. KANADE, J.) 7