Pratap Manna vs State Of West Bengal & Ors

The petitioner was engaged by way of a purely temporary measure as a Medical Technologist (in short “MT(Lab)â€at Khandorui BPHC, through

the District Health & Family Welfare Samiti. The initial engagement was for a period of 11 months starting from March 2, 2009. The petitioner was

dis-engaged in 2020. It is the case of the petitioner that the engagement was extended from time to time. The West Bengal State Health & Family

Welfare Samiti through its Executive Director, issued a memo dated December 22, 2011. By the said memo, the disparities and anomalies in the

consolidated remuneration paid to the contractual employees engaged in various health sector programmes under the West Bengal State Health &

Family Welfare Samiti was removed. The contractual employees engaged in different health sector programmes under the West Bengal State Health

& Family Welfare Samities were given a consolidated enhanced remuneration. For those persons engaged as M.T.(Lab) for two years, the gross

monthly remuneration was fixed at Rs. 17,220/- .

The contention of the petitioner is that the petitioner had rendered service for more than two years and was entitled to remuneration @ Rs.17,220/-

per month. The petitioner was paid initially Rs.3,500/- which was revised to Rs.5,000/- and thereafter Rs.6,000/-.The records reveal that the case of

the petitioner and similarly situated M.T.(Lab) engaged by the District Health & Family Welfare Samiti had been recommended by the Member

Secretary of the District Health & Family Welfare Samiti and Chief Medical Officer of Health, Paschim Medinipore, by a letter dated February 23,

2021. Records further reveal that the petitioner along with other similarly situated M.T.(Lab) also sought for clarification from the Government and

made several requests to the respondents to make the memo dated December 22,2011, applicable in case of the petitioners and others. Despite these

requests and recommendations made by the Chief Medical Officer of Health, Paschim Medinipore, the respondents remained silent and did not

consider the prayer of the petitioner for payment of a revised consolidated remuneration as per the memo dated December 22, 2011. It also appears

from the records that the Director of Health Services, Government of West Bengal had issued a memo dated February 22, 2017 instructing the Chief

Medical Officers of Health of different districts to use the service of Medical Technologists like the petitioner at different secondary and primary

health facilities which were lying vacant.

The contention of the petitioner is that medical technologists like the petitioner engaged in different districts were also under the West Bengal Health

& Family Welfare Samiti. The concerned Chief Medical Officer of Health also recommended that the petitioner was entitled to the benefit of the

memo dated December 22, 2011. That the petitioner was doing work similar to those done by medical technologists engaged under the West Bengal

Health & Family Welfare Samiti. As such, there could not be any reason for denying the consolidated remuneration as per memo dated December 22,

2011. That the petitioner was entitled to equal pay for equal work at par with the medical technologists (lab) engaged by the West Bengal State Health

and Family Welfare Samiti.

Mr. Tapan Kumar Mukherjee and Mr. T.M. Siddiqui, learned Additional Government Pleader and learned Senior Government Advocate respectively,

submit that the petitioner was engaged through the District Health & Family Welfare Samiti. The remuneration of the petitioner was paid from the

interest fund of the district and as such the petitioner did not stand on the same footing with the medical technologists engaged by the West Bengal

State Health & Family Welfare Samiti. That the memo dated December 22, 2011 was restricted to those medical technologists (lab) engaged by the

West Bengal State Health & Family Welfare Samiti. It was an internal circular for the said samiti and was not universally applicable.

The submissions of Mr. Siddiqui that the medical technologists engaged through the District Health & Family Welfare Samiti were not at par with

those engaged under the West Bengal Health & Family Welfare Samiti, is not supported by any document filed in their affidavit in opposition. Mr.

Siddiqui representing the State respondents categorically states that the memo dated December 22, 2011 was issued exclusively by the State Health &

Family Welfare Samiti through the Executive Director and solely for those persons engaged under the said Samity and not to the District Health &

Family Welfare Samiti.

I have considered the records. It is true that the petitioner was engaged through the District Health & Family Welfare Samiti but the respondents have

failed to show any document which would indicate that there is a separate recruitment procedure for engagement of the medical technologists under

the District Health & Family Welfare Samiti and under the West Bengal Health & Family Welfare Samiti. The further contention of the respondents

that there is a difference in the cadre, responsibility and nature of work, for which the medical technologists (lab) appointed through the West Bengal

Health & Family Welfare Samiti would only enjoy the benefit of memo dated December 22, 2011 is not supported by any document. Despite the

clarification sought for by the petitioner and despite the recommendation made by the Chief Medical Officer of Health, Paschim Medinipore, the State

respondents have failed to clarify why the memorandum dated December 22, 2011, would not be applicable in case of the petitioner.

Under such circumstances, the issues as to whether the petitioner falls within the zone of consideration as per the memo dated December 22, 2011

and whether the said memo should be made applicable in case of all medical technologists (lab) engaged in the health sector are to be answered by

the respondents with proper reasons. The recommendation of Chief Medical Officer of Health cannot be ignored. The nature of duties performed by

the petitioner and others engaged by the West Bengal Health & Family Welfare Samiti, prima facie cannot be very different. However, these are

questions of facts, which have to be brought on record.

On the basis of the observations made hereinabove, the Principal Secretary, Department of Health & Family Welfare, Government of West Bengal

shall decide the issues raised in this writ petition and shall take into consideration the contention of the petitioner as also the contentions of the CMOH,

Paschim Medinipur. The concerned Secretary shall pass a reasoned order on the issues raised by the petitioner as discussed in this order. Such

decision shall be taken and communicated to the petitioner within a period of eight weeks from the date of communication of this order.

The main issue to be decided by the highest authority in the Department of Health and Family Welfare is, whether the medical technologists engaged

under the District Health & Family Welfare Samiti could be treated differently and denied equal pay for equal work at par with those engaged by

State Health and Family Welfare Committee when all of them function under the health sector of the State of West Bengal, for the period when the

memo dated December 22, 2011 was made applicable and upto to the termination of the petitioner.

A copy of the writ petition along with server copy of this order shall be served in the office of Principal Secretary, Department of Health & Family

Welfare, Government of West Bengal.

This writ petition is disposed of.

There will be however no order as to costs.

All parties are directed to act on the server copy of this order.