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| ‘Sandwiched between two organizations’ | | HC directs PHE Department to pay wages to the workers | | Jammu, Feb 22
Justice Nirmal Singh of J&K High Court Jammu wing, in a writ petition filed by the workers engaged by Public Health Engineering Department (PHE) for execution of a water supply scheme at the instance of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board Katra, has directed PHE Department to pay wages to the petitioners within two months and if the funds are not provided by the Board then they are at liberty to discontinue the scheme.
The petitioners who were engaged to execute scheme to lift 3 lakh gallons of water per day (in three stages of pumping) from tube well at village Kotli. The scheme funded by the Shrine Board started in October 2002 was to be completed in May, 2005.
Additional Advocate General Mr. SC Gupta appearing for the PHE Department submitted that water supply scheme Sial Dabri was framed and executed at the instance of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board. The scheme comprised three stages including lifting of water to holy shrine. The casual labourers were deployed at the request of the officers of the shrine board and their wages were paid out of fund provided by the shrine board. The scheme is still being executed and petitioners are regularly working on the said scheme. On the other hand Sr. Advocate UK Jalali appearing for the Shrine Board submitted that another scheme was being executed by the Board known as Trikuta Hill Forestation Project and the workers have been disengaged due to winding up the said project. They directed the Executive Engineer PHE Udhampur to disengage the individuals engaged. Sr. Adv UK Jalali further submitted that Shrine Board was not a party when the order of the court was passed directing the respondents not to disengage the petitioners and pay them according to the rule.
Justice Nirmal Singh observed that the Chief Executive Officer Shrine Board cannot interfere in the internal working of the PHE, therefore, the order of disengagement of workers cannot sustain and accordingly quashed with the direction to the PHE department to pay the wages to the workers/petitioners within two months. If the funds are not provided by the Shrine Board, then PHE are at liberty to discontinue the scheme. , the Court ordered
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