FORUM OF SURVEY ENGINEERS & TECHNOLOGISTS,
WEST BENGAL
(Regd.
No: S/1L/82933 of 2011-2012)
SHOVA NIVAS;
19, CHANDI GHOSH ROAD; KOLKATA- 700040,
Ref
No: L/20/12 Dated: 20/11/2012
To
The
Chief Engineer
Municipal
Engineering Directorate
Bikash
Bhavan; Salt Lake
Kolkata
700001
Respected
Sir,
Apropos Hon’ble MIC, Deptts. of M.A
& U.D. note on 13/03/012 forwarded vide No: MIC/144-D/2012 dated 16/03/2012
and letter of Deputy Secretary; Department of Municipal Affairs vide No: 195/MA/N/C-8/ME/2M-02/12 dated 1st
August 2012 and reminded vide letter No: 257/MA/N/C-8/ME/2M-02/12 dated 27th
September 2012 which were necessitated us
to request you to put your valuable comments on our demands referring to
Surveyor’s pay scale and group of service which remains, according to our
experience, much anomalous since 1978.
The
demands as noted below needs to be considered in three phases;
1)
Regarding service of the “Very
Specialised Cadre”, it is seen that the first ROPA Committee recognised
Surveyors under the Sub-Ordinate Engineering Service which was cemented in the
Apex Court judgement by being declared this category of employee “Purely
Technical Cadre” vide Appeal (Civil) No: 1179 of 2002 in the matter of “Deb
Narayan Shyam & Ors –Vs- State of WB & Ors” (2004), INSC 727 (1
December, 2004) by the Division Bench of Hon’ble Justice B. N. Agrawal &
Hon’ble Justice A.K Mathur [Annexed
“A”].
But surprisingly
no initiative was taken by the next Pay Commissions to reconsider the issue
after this cadre was dumped into common category along-with clerical ones by
the 2nd Pay Commission since 1980.
Points
of Observation: It is to mention here, that, 5th State Pay
Commission considered the Work Assistant (Scale No. 6, pre-revised) as a
“Technical Cadre”. In taking account of recruitment rules & pay structure
of Surveyor (Scale No. 9, pre-revised) & Work Assistant it is obvious that
the Surveyors are having higher side in respect of both qualification and pay
scale. The cadre of Surveyor is highly specialised and very much a “Technical
Cadre” whose curriculum is recognised by the Director General of Employment
& Training and National Council of Vocational Training, Govt. of India and Survey
Education Advisory Board and Technical Education & Training, Govt. of West
Bengal. So they fully deserve to be included in the Sub-Ordinate Service, as
recommended by the 1st Pay Commission. It is also to be mentioned
that the 5th Pay Commission surprisingly recommended upgrading Work
Assistant to SAE by offering departmental training.
2)
Pay scale anomaly is very much evident
in relation to the cadre counterpart in Govt. of India’s various departments
wherein Surveyors with same & equal qualifications get the requisite pay of
the Sub-Ordinate status as per the 6th Central Pay Commission.
Furthermore, anomaly within State Govt.’s department varying from scale No.
7(Surveyors of some U.L.B) to scale No. 9 and even offering scale No. 10
(Archeological Survey, Govt. of West Bengal) in stray incidents having equal
qualification and status of a Surveyor.
Points
of Observation: The historical judgement in Apex Court in the matter of Randhir Singh –Vs- Union Of India
& Ors (Ordered on 22 February, 1982) citations: 1982 AIR 879, 1982 SCR (3) 298; Bench: Reddy, O Chinnappa, [Annexed “B”] stating “Equal pay for equal work” in
reference to discrimination in pay benefit and remedy.
Under the statement the Surveyors of your
Directorate have every right to be offered with equal pay & benefits as
extended to the counterparts in Govt. of India’s various departments.
3)
Surveyors are deprived in their avenue
of promotion since independence & the latest functional promotional scope
limits them to be elevated to Head Surveyor only with the Scale No. 11 ( pre-revised), which eventually clashes with
benefits of MCAS’01 & Grade-I in vogue for the Surveyors dealing with
complex nitty-gritties. They are not provided with any systematic promotional
channel which is a must for any cadre of employee as per the resolutions of
ILO. Fundamental right to promotion on under Article 14 & 16 of the
Constitution of India also goes in the favour of the Surveyors.
Points
of Observation: Surveyors are potentially eligible for the promotional
prospect from the Basic Grade to Grade-I and Head Surveyors with concurrent
functions having respective pay scales for each tier of the cadre, keeping in
mind that Govt. of West Bengal is offering posts of Surveyor, Grade-I (Scale
No.11, pre-revised), Head Surveyor (Scale No. 11, pre-revised), Assistant
Survey Officer (Scale No. 12, pre-revised) & Survey Officer (Scale No. 13, pre-revised)
in a particular department.
Furthermore, another promotional option prevailing
in your Directorate for Draftsman Gd-I (Scale No. 13, pre-revised) may also be
extended atleast to the Surveyors of your organisation.
Now, Sir, keeping
the entire context in view, I, on behalf of our Forum, seeking your kind opinion
and necessary remarks with directives, if any, in this respect as stated above
at the earliest possible & oblige.
Thanking You Sincerely Yours
Encl:
As stated
ASINJIT
SARKAR
[General
Secretary] FORUM OF SURVEY ENGINEERS & TECHNOLOGISTS,
W.B