- (1.) This order will dispose of the above cases bearing CWPs No. 23968 of 2013, 12177, 14352, 17368, 10184, 11440, 21880 of 2014, 8238 and 8810 of 2015 as common questions of law and fact are involved in them which can conveniently be decided by a common order. The facts are taken from CWP No.23968 of 2015 for the sake of convenience.
(2.) Heard respective counsel for the petitioners and the learned counsel for the respondents including learned counsel for the Municipal Corporation/Council, and the Punjab Water Supply & Sewerage Board.
(3.) The sole issue raised in these petitions is whether the petitioners are entitled to benefit of deputation allowance from the Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board [Board" for brevity]. The issue has to be decided in the background of a few relevant facts which are: the petitioners were in the services of the Municipal Corporations/Councils, on posts which were transferred to the Board. Consequently, they were redeployed. Had they not been employed elsewhere they would have in all probability lost their jobs when rendered as surplus employees. The transition of the petitioners from Councils/Corporations to Board is not in the nature of a borrowing and lending arrangement and therefore, not entitled to be treated as deputationists for the reason that their parent department remains the Councils/Corporations since it did not pass an order retrenching the services of the petitioners. Their thread of employment continues but in a different relationship involving the Board where their services were continued due scales acquired while they were working in the Councils/ Corporations or Boards.;