A.K.MATHUR, J. - (1.) ALL the writ petitions mentioned in the Schedule are disposed of by the common order as they involve similar question of law. For the convenient disposal of all the writ petitions, the facts given in S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 3564 of 1989 are take in into consideration.
(2.) THIS writ petition and those mentioned in the annexed schedule involve a complex human problem that employees serving in various departments having continued in service for number of years, still they are treated as casual employees and are being paid at the rate of daily wages. In spite of putting in number of years service they are still insecure about their job as well as their economic condition. This problem has received an serious consideration by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in various decisions which I will have an occasion to discuss at appropriate place. However, the fact remains that the Government has not paid much attention to this human problem, which has resulted in large number of petitions in this Court. Therefore, in order to lay down general guidelines which has emerged from the various decisions of the Hon'ble Supreme Court, all these cases are disposed of by this common order.
(3.) PETITIONERS in this writ petition are casual labour employees of the Public Health Engineering Department, for short, PHED. Some are working as Pump Drivers (Gr. II) and others on various posts on daily wages. The petitioners are continuing in service right from 1985 onwards, therefore, the petitioners by this writ petition have prayed that the respondent State of Rajasthan be directed to regularise the services of these daily wage employees in terms of Rule 3(3) of the Rajasthan PWD (B&R;) including Gardens, Irrigation, Water Works and Ayurvedic Departments Work charged Employees Service Rules, 1964 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Rules). The Rules of 1964 define 'Work charged Employee' under Rule 2(a) which reads as under: 2(a) 'Work -charged Employee' means any person actually employed for or on the execution and/or supervision of works both original and maintenance, supervision of departmental labour, stores, machinery and works, etc. paid on daily or monthly basis.' Rule 3 lays down the categorisation which reads as under: (1) Work charged employee (including the regular technical staff of Water Works Department) for the purpose of these rules shall be divided in to the following three categories: (i) Permanent Status, (ii) Semi -Permanent Status, and (ii) Casual: Provided however, that nothing in these rules shall entitle any work -charged employee, categorised permanent or semi -permanent to claim the status or benefits of permanency or semi -permanency to which a regular Government employee is entitled under the Rajasthan Service Rules. (2) Employees, who have been in service for ten years or more, shall be eligible for the status of permanent work charged employees provided their record of service, in the opinion of the competent authority, is satisfactory. (3) Employees in continuous service for two years or more except those covered by Sub -rule (1) shall be eligible for the status of semi -permanent work charged employees or of semi permanent regular technical staff, provided their record of service in the opinion of the competent authority, is satisfactory. (4) No employee shall acquire the status specified in Sub -rules (2) and (3) without the prior section on the competent authority, as may be notified by the Head of the Department from time to time. Clarification : - If has been observed that in the matter of declaring of semi -permanent and permanent status of work charged employees under rule 3 of the Rajasthan Public Works Department (P & R) including Gardens, Irrigation, Water Works and Ayurvedic Department Work charged Employees service Rules, 1964, a uniform policy is not being adopted by the departments where work charged employees are engaged. The casual Work -charged employees are declared as semi -permanent and allowed regular pay scales with other benefits likes leave, medical facilities, traveling and daily allowance etc., as soon as they complete 2 years under the plea that it is obligatory to declare them semi permanent on completion of 2 years according to Rule 3 of the above said Rules. It is clarified that Rule 3(3) only mentions that an employee becomes entitled to be declared as semi permanent on completion of 2 years' service provided his service record is satisfactory and sanctioned post is available besides other condistions, such as age at the time of recruitment and medical fitness etc., are fulfilled. It is, therefore, enjoined upon all the concerned departments that the casual workers should not be declared semi permanent on completion of 2 years service only and allowed pay -scales unless other conditions mentioned above are also fulfilled, (vide D.O.P. Notification No. F. 5 (11) DOP (A -11)174 dated 19.9.1980. The principal submission of the learned Counsel for the petitioners in all these writ petitions is that under Rule 3(3) of the Rules the employees who have put in two years continuous service are eligible for the status of semi -permanent and a direction should be given that all these employees may be declared as semi -permanent after completion of two years' service. The learned Counsel for the petitioner has also invited my attention to the decision given by this Court in the case of Rashtriya Nal Mazdoor Sangh v. State of Rajasthan and Ors. decided on May 21, 1987 and the decision of this Court in Kamal Kumar v. State and Ors. D.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 1319/87 decided on April 19, 1988 and a decision given in the case of Vinod Kumar and Ors. v. State and Anr. S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 1116/90, decided on December 01, 1990. The learned Counsel also invited my attention to a decision given in Jacob M. Puthuperambil v. Kerala Water Authority : (1991)IILLJ65SC .;