Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, June 12: The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) Jammu Bench has directed the PHE Department to offer an appointment in lieu of the land acquired for the construction of water reservoir within a period of two months from today.
The order in this regard has been passed by Judicial Member Rajinder Singh Dogra, who observed, “the family of the person who donated the land is struggling to get an appointment since last more than four decades. It is the second generation who is the son of the predecessor in interest”, adding “being a welfare State which has entered into an agreement with the citizen cannot take the U-turn by refusing the employment as has been guaranteed by them in SRO”.
The facts of the case are that the father of the applicant namely Chunni Lal, who donated the land measuring 01 Kanal and 09 Marlas to the Public Health Engineering Department (PHE) for the construction of the water reservoir was given assurance of appointment as Chowkidar in that department in lieu of the land given by him.
There was an SRO which came into existence on 03rd June, 1981 in which there was a provision to give employment to the family member(s) who donated the land, but subsequently that was withdrawn on 11.07.1991. The court observed, “the land was transferred to the department in the year 1987 and a gift deed was also signed in this regard between the donor of the land– father of the applicant and the PHE Department on 31.07.1987 in which it was clearly mentioned that they would give employment to the donor of the land in lieu of the land”.
“The poor farmer for whom this land was the only source of his livelihood donated the same with the legitimate expectation that he or any of his family would get a job but unfortunately, he was neither given the appointment nor any kind of compensation. The department after having given assurance is bound by the terms and conditions as mentioned in the gift deed itself”, the CAT said.
When the case of the applicant was rejected in the year 2000, he approached the High Court by way of writ petition and the writ petition was allowed. Thereafter, the department filed LPA against the writ petition, which was consequently dismissed by the High Court and respondents were directed to accord consideration to the case of the applicant for granting him appointment but later on the father of the applicant who had donated the land died and the consideration order for rejection was passed denying any benefit to the poor applicant in lieu of his donated land.
The case of the applicant was thereafter transferred to the CAT, Jammu Bench, which has disposed off the matter after a long gap of 20 years after initial filing of the writ petition with the direction to the department to issue appointment in favour of the applicant because the SRO was in existence from 1981 to 1991 and the deed was signed between the department and the applicant in the year 1987.
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