Janjati Prathamik Vidhyalaya Shikshak Kalyan Samiti & Another vs State Of Uttarakhand And Others

Pankaj Purohit, J

Heard learned counsel for the parties.

The writ petition has been filed by petitioners-Janjati Prathamik Vidhyalaya Shikshak Kalyan Samiti, Bajpur along with a Head Master working in the said school, for seeking indulgence of this Court for various directions to the respondent-State, mainly, commanding them to disburse the salary of teachers of Janjati Primary Schools in District Udham Singh Nagar under the Department of Social Welfare on month to month basis without any delay.

The case of petitioners before this Court is that by virtue of Government Order dated 31.12.1979, it had been decided by the erstwhile State of Uttar Pradesh that in tribal areas, the tribal schools will be opened for the purpose of imparting education to the children belonging to the tribal community at primary level. For the said purpose, by the government order, as referred above, the Scheme had been launched wherein a Society was to be constituted and under the Society, such schools should be opened for imparting education, as referred above.

Here, in the case, the Society, namely, ‘Servants of India Society’ was also constituted in a part of District Nainital (now in District Udham Singh Nagar) and Government has asked the Society to open such schools for the aforesaid purposes in erstwhile Nainital district now part of Distt. U.S. Nagar for the purpose of imparting education to the children of scheduled tribes (Tharu and Buxa communities). The schools were opened and by virtue of aforesaid G.O. dated 31.12.1979, the annual grant was released in favour of Social Welfare Department, State of Uttar Pradesh and the said amount was transferred to the account of ‘Servants of India Society’ earlier. The teachers-members of petitioner society have continuously been suffering from such kind of payment which is made annually to them and feeling aggrieved, the petitioner-Society, on behalf of and for the benefit of its members, has come up before this Court by filing the present writ petition for the aforesaid relief(s).

During the pendency of the writ petition, it is not denied by the State that there is no law by State to give grant to these kind of schools through Society. However, pursuant to the orders of this Court directing the State to transfer the amount in the account of members of petitioner’s Society working in the aforesaid schools admittedly run by the ‘Servants of India Society’, and now, as per the statement of learned Chief Standing Counsel for the State, the salary of teachers is transferred to their account and further, the salary up to the period of 2022-2023 has been paid.

Similar is the situation even now with regard to payment of salary of members of petitioner’s Society as the same has yet not been paid month to month basis to the Members-teachers of petitioner’s Society. However, it is submitted by learned C.S.C. that the budget for the year 2023-24 has already been approved and sent to the Social Welfare Department on 16.06.2023 on the proposal made by the D.M., U.S. Nagar. But the fact remains that still, after allocation of aforesaid grant, members of petitioner’s society are not getting salary on month to month basis which is the main grievance of petitioner’s society and its members.

From perusal of the record and especially the G.O. dated 31.12.1979, it is clear that the State is bound to give grant to the ‘Servants of India Society’ under which these tribal schools are imparting education in the primary schools and are paid the grant-in-aid by the State, and if the State is also not denying the liability, the only question left to be considered is as to for how long, the petitioner’s society can be kept in such a situation of getting annual budget instead of month to month salary.

There is no denial of this fact that the schools are regularly being run. There are students therein and the members of petitioner’s society are imparting education/ instructions to these children. In this view of the matter, those teachers-members are entitled to get salary on month to month basis, and the State Government is required to make a mechanism to settle down the present controversy which is faced by these petitioners.

In this view of the matter, this Court is of the opinion that the State may be directed to constitute a High Level Committee, headed by Secretary (Education), State of Uttarakhand having Secretary, Social Welfare Department as its Member and other higher level Officers of its choice of Education Department, who shall dwell upon the issue in detail. The Secretary (Education) shall constitute the said Committee within four weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order, and the Committee, according to the facts of the case, shall decide the controversy involved in the present writ petition. The Committee, so constituted as per the orders of this Court, shall decide and develop a mechanism to settle the controversy between the parties and shall decide as to how month to month salary could be granted to the members of petitioner’s society. Such exercise shall be completed within three months after the constitution of Committee.

In this view of the matter, the writ petition is disposed of finally.