FORUM OF SURVEY ENGINEERS & TECHNOLOGISTS,

WEST BENGAL

(Regd. No: S/1L/82933 of 2011-2012)

fosetwb@gmail.com; www.fosetwb.blogspot.com

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 1^st August 2012 and reminded vide letter No: 257/MA/N/C-8/ME/2M-02/12 dated 27^th 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 2^nd Pay Commission since 1980.

Points of Observation: It is to mention here, that, 5^th 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 1^st Pay Commission. It is also to be mentioned that the 5^th 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 6^th 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