- (1.) Heard counsel for the parties and with their consent this application is disposed of at the stage of admission.
(2.) Challenge as made by the petitioner D.V.C. in this writ application is to the notification dated 23.06.2004 (Annexure-7) whereby the appropriate Government has prohibited the employment of contract labour in any process, operation or other work relating to colony cleaning job and coal feeding job in the Bokaro Thermal Power Station, Bokaro and in the Chandrapura Thermal Power Station, Chandrapura with effect from the date of publication of the notification.
(3.) The challenge is made inter-alia on the following grounds :- (i) Before issuing the notification of prohibition, the State Government has not considered the essential conditions specified under Section 10(2) of the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970 (hereinafter referred to as the Act). (ii) The principles of natural justice have not been followed causing prejudice to the petitioner in as much as, before issuing the impugned notification, no reasonable opportunity was given to the petitioner of being heard. (iii) The impugned notification which was issued in 2004 and thereafter more than six years have lapsed during which period, substantial changes have occurred. The prohibition of engaging contract labour may now entail serious problems as because the workmen employed by the contractors cannot be automatically absorbed in service by way of their regularization under the petitioner.;