Ms Catharine E. Myrthong vs Union Of India & Ors.

PER: RAJINDER SINGH DOGRA, JUDICIAL MEMBER:

The applicant has approached this Tribunal to seek the following relief:

Brief facts of the case as submitted by learned counsel for the applicant are that, applicant was appointed as Lecturer in the Nursing College of NEIGRIHMS on 01.03.2005 in the pay scale of 8000-13500. She is aggrieved with the action of the respondent No. 1 and 2 in issuing the impugned order dated 09-09-2016 read with letter dated 24-08-2023 and letter dated 13-09-2023 thereby merging the lower posts of Lecturers in NEIGHRIMS, Shillong with the higher post of Associate Professor/Reader held by the present applicant w.e.f. 08-08-2008.

The present application is also filed against the illegal and arbitrary action on the part of the respondents in not granting the Grade Pay from Rs.6600 to Rs.7600 in the rank of Reader/Associate Professor, College of Nursing, North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health & Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS), Shillong in the PB-3 w.e.f. the date of joining the sanction post of Reader / Associate Professor on 08.08.2006.

Applicant is also highly aggrieved with the impugned amended section 2 and 3 read with the Schedule of the "Ministry & Health and Family Welfare, North Easter Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health & Medical Sciences, Shillong Nursing Teaching Faculty Posts (Group 'A') Recruitment Amendment Rules, 2023" to the extent of merger of two lower posts of Lecturer and Senior Lecturer with the singular higher post of Associate Professor as the same is bad in law for the simple reason that the above two post of Lecturers / Senior Lecturers in terms of educational qualification, experience, grade pay etc. in other colleges or university not only NEIGRIHMS is always different and distinct from that of the experience, grade pay etc. of the higher post of Reader / Associate Professor held by the applicant since 2008. Hence, this O.A.

Learned counsel for the applicant submits that in O.A No. 176/2027, filed by aggrieved Lecturers seeking payment of revised pay scale, this Tribunal vide order dated 15.3.2019 directed the respondent NEIGRIHMS to pay grade pay of Rs. 6600 which is at par with the other AIIMS as per the 6th Pay Commission Report. Writ petition filed by the respondent was also dismissed by the Hon'ble High Court of Meghalaya by order dated 29.11.2021 by holding that the direction of this Tribunal to the respondent to pay the grade pay of Rs.6600 to the respondent lecturers in NEIGRIHMS at par with other AIIMS as per the 6th CPC is reasonable and legal. Thereafter, Review filed by the UOI was also dismissed by holding that though the post of Lecturer is not indicated in the above O.M. but the said post is closest to such post of Senior Lecturer in the College of Nursing and hence, the question of rectification cannot be permitted to raise belatedly.

Learned counsel for the applicant submits that since the respondent denied the grade pay of Rs 7600/- to the applicant, as per the OM dated 10.02.2009 and only paid the grade pay of Rs.6600/- which was in fact the grade pay for the post of Lecturers, the petitioner approached the respondent authorities to pay the aforesaid grade pay of 7600/- as per the aforesaid O.M. but the same was denied.

Respondents in their reply have stated that the Learning Resource Allowance (LRA) as applicable at AIIMS, was discontinued subsequently in terms of MoH&FW letter dated 8.8.2014 and due to audit objection. The MoH&FW has restored payment of LRA to faculty of 6 (six) AIIMS. The audit department advised Institute to obtain approval of Ministry for payments of LRA. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health & FW, Govt. of India vide order dated 23.8.2018 has enhanced the rate of LRA @ Rs. 1,50,000/- per annum to the faculty of AIIMS, PGI etc. following implementation of the 7th CPC (Pay Revision). Accordingly, the Institute sent proposals to the Ministry to extend the same benefits to NEIGRIHMS Faculty and Group A officers, but it was not acceded to by the Ministry stating that AIIMS, PGIMER and JIPMER are Institute of National Importance and NEIGRIHMS, is not an INI's.

A proposal was sent to the Ministry for enhanced rate of Academic Allowance that was also not acceded to with the same reasons that it is not Institute of National Importance.

According to respondents, at present the faculty of the Institute is not drawing pay parity with the faculty of AIIMS, New Delhi, PGIMER, Chandigarh and JIPMER, Puducherry etc. The Institute has submitted proposal for maintaining pay parity in respect of faculty of this Institute with their counterparts at AIIMS, PGIMER and JIPMER and the matter is pending with the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of India.

Heard the Learned counsel for the parties and perused the records.

It is noted that vide order dated 17.07.2026 in similar issue in the O.A 327/2019 (Dr. A. B. Khyriem & Ors. vs NEIGRIHMS), this Tribunal has passed the following order:

In view of the fact that similar issue has already been dealt with by this Tribunal in the aforesaid case (supra), we are not inclined to pass separate order as the facts and circumstances are similar as that of the present case.

Accordingly, O.A stands dismissed. No costs.