THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE N.V. RAMANA W.P. No. 2269 of 2009 Oral order: The petitioners four in number, are societies registered under the provisions of the Registration of Societies Act, 2001. The members of the petitioner-societies belong to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Badli Workers and Children of Retired Public Health Workers. The petitioner-societies are registered strictly as per the requirements of G.O. Ms. No. 581, dated 06.11.1996, which was issued by the Government in exercise of power under Section 679-E of the Hyderabad Municipal Corporation Act, 1955. The G.O. lays down modalities with regard to registration of societies, its composition and award of sanitation works. The petitioners having been registered for undertaking sanitation works, contend are eligible to participate in tenders and entitled to allotment of sanitation contract works under 15% quota. The petitioners state that the respondent issued notification dated 07.01.2009 inviting applications from registered labour contract societies for executing sanitation works. Responding to the said notice, the petitioners submitted their applications. In all, the respondent received 16 applications. While so, the petitioners state that the respondent has requested the District Co-operative Officer, to clarify as to how many societies are registered and eligible for participating in the tender process. In response to the same, the District Co-operative Officer, vide letter dated 31.01.2009 clarified that only eight societies, which are registered under the A.P. Co-operative Societies Act, 1964 are eligible to participate in the tender process. As the petitioners are not registered in the A.P. Co-operative Societies Act, 1964, but under the provisions of the Societies Registration Act, 2001, apprehending that the respondent, based on the clarification dated 31.01.2009 given by the District Co-operative Officer, would exclude them from the tender process, filed the present writ petition to declare the action of the respondent in not considering their tenders made in pursuance of the tender notification, for allotment of sanitation works under the 15% quota, as illegal and arbitrary, and consequently direct the respondent to consider the case of the petitioners for allotment of sanitation works under the 15% quota. The respondent filed counter inter alia contending that the notification issued by them is not a tender notice, inviting tenders, but invites applications from eligible registered societies for entrustment of sanitation works in terms of Rule 11 of the M.C.H. Tender Rules, 1970. It is contended that though the members of the petitioners- societies belong to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, but since the societies are not registered under the provisions of the A.P. Co-operative Societies Act, 1964, they are not eligible for allotment of any sanitation works on nomination basis. In fact, condition No.2 of the notice clearly states that the societies registered under the A.P. Co- operative Societies Act, 1964 and whose members are Vadderas, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and unemployed or Retrenched Engineers of the same categories, are eligible to participate in the allotment of works on nomination basis. It is further contended that 15% of the sanitation works have been reserved for allotment to societies mentioned in Rule 11(2)(iv) of the M.C.H. Tender Rules, on nomination basis, as directed by this Court in W.P. No. 24856 of 2005, dated 22.11.2005. It is thus prayed that the writ petition be dismissed. Bhavaji Nagar Vaddera Labour Contract Co-operative Society, which got impleaded as party-respondent No.2 in the writ petition, has supported the stand taken by the respondent-corporation, and prayed for dismissal f the writ petition. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner, the learned Standing Counsel for respondent No.1-corporation and the learned counsel for the impleaded respondent No.2. The short question that arises for consideration in the writ petition is whether the petitioners-societies, which are registered under the provisions of the Societies Registration Act, 2001 and as per the requirements of G.O. Ms. No. 581, M.A., dated 06.11.1996, issued much after M.C.H. Tender Rules, 1970 came to be issued G.O. Ms. No. 451, M.A., dated 06.06.1970, are entitled to be extended the benefit of G.O. Ms. No. 581, M.A., dated 06.11.1996 or whether they are liable to be excluded because they are not registered under the A.P. Co- operative Societies Act, 1964? The Government in G.O. Ms. No. 451, M.A., dated 06.06.1970, framed M.C.H. Tender Rules, 1970. Sub-rule (2) to Rule 11 was added by G.O. Ms. No. 201, dated 21.04.1986, providing for certain concessions in the matter of awarding of works to Co-operative Societies consisting of members of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes and the Weaker Sections who happen to be unemployed or retrenched engineers and the Labour Co-operative Societies formed of “Wadderas”. It is the contention of the petitioners- societies that even though they are registered under the provisions of Registration of Societies Act, 2001, but since its members belong to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and persons belonging to Vaddera community, they are entitled to allotment of sanitation works under the 15% quota, and the respondent-corporation cannot deny them allotment of works on the ground that they are not registered under the provisions of A.P. Co-operative Societies Act, 1964. The learned Standing Counsel for the respondent-corporation submits that the “co-operative societies” mentioned in Rule 11(2) of the M.C.H. Tender Rules, 1970, are “co-operative societies” registered under the provisions of the A.P. Co-operative Societies Act, 1964 and not any other. Whether the expression “co-operative societies” means only “co-operative societies” registered under the A.P. Co-operative Societies Act, 1964 and excludes all other societies registered under the Registration of Societies Act, 2001 and Mutually Aided Co- operative Societies Act or any other statute, is a matter which requires clarification from the Government, which admittedly, is not a party to the writ petition. At this stage, the learned Standing Counsel for the respondent- corporation submitted that in view of urgency in the matter, for the present, they would consider the cases of all the societies, irrespective of whether they are registered under the provisions of the A.P. Co- operative Societies Act, 1964 or not, and submitted that the question as to whether the expression “co-operative societies” used in Rule 11(2) of the M.C.H. Rules, 1970 means only those co-operative societies registered under the provisions of the A.P. Co-operative Societies Act, 1964 and not any other, may be considered in appropriate case. In view of the above stand taken by the learned Standing Counsel for the respondent-corporation, I deem it appropriate to dispose of the writ petition with the following directions: The respondent-corporation, as submitted by them, shall consider the cases of all the societies, which have responded to the notification, for allotment of work on nomination bases against the 15% quota, irrespective of whether they are registered under the A.P. Co- operative Societies Act, 1964 or not. Accordingly, the writ petition is disposed of. No costs. ________________ N.V. RAMANA, J. Date: 23rd March, 2009 KSR