MEGHALAYA TREASURY ACCOUNTS SERVICES ASSOCIATION Vs. STATE OF MEGHALAYA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The challenge here is to the acceptance by the State of the recommendations of the Fifth State Pay Commission pertaining to the scales of pay of personnel in the Meghalaya Treasury Accounts Service.

(2.) The principal ground of challenge is that it was only in 2014 that the State had recognised that the cadre structure of the Meghalaya Treasury Accounts Service was comparable to that of the Meghalaya Accounts Service as, in both the cases, the minimum educational qualifications at the entry-level, the in-service training and the nature of works were similar. Further, the relevant notification of July 1, 2014 acknowledged that an additional qualification was mandatory for entrants in the Meghalaya Treasury Accounts Service as the candidates had to be adept at the use of computers.

(3.) Pursuant to the notification of July 1, 2014, the pay-scales of the three posts under the Meghalaya Treasury Accounts Service were upgraded for Accountants, Senior Accounts Assistants and Junior Accounts Assistants such that they were at par with the comparable posts in the Meghalaya Accounts Service. In its report of July 31, 2017 the Fifth Meghalaya Pay Commission noticed several anomalies arising as a result of the upgradation in the pay-scales pertaining to the Meghalaya Treasury Accounts Service. The Commission noted that earlier State Pay Commissions had maintained the pay-scales of the Meghalaya Secretariat Subordinate Service, which is the premier subordinate service in the State, at a higher level than that of the Meghalaya Subordinate Treasury Accounts Service. The difference in the pay-scales was noticed and the Commission observed that "an anomalous position has arisen out of the State Government decision to sharply increase the pay scales of the Meghalaya Subordinate Treasury Accounts Service, as indicated above".