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Judgment
(Per: Mr. Sanjeev Gupta, Judicial Member)
The instant Original Application (in short O.A.) has been filed by the applicant under Section 19 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985, seeking the following reliefs:-
(i)Direct the respondents to release the admitted amount of arrears of salary (along with all admissible benefits) due to the petitioner since the date of entitlement till retirement, within a stipulated time, along with compound interest @18% per annum from the date the amount became due till actual payment. Such interest may be recovered from the officers responsible for the delay.
(ii)Any other order or direction which this Tribunal may deem fit in the circumstances of the case.
It is the case of the applicant that applicant was appointed as Multi-Purpose Worker (MPW) in the Rural Development Department, Jammu, in the year 1997 and the Government issued order No. 327-RD & PR of 2017 dated 11.12.2017 whereby it was clarified that MPWs shall be treated at par with VLWs for grant of higher pay scale after completion of 8 years of service, in terms of J&K Rural Development (Subordinate) Service Recruitment Rules, 2007. Pursuant to the aforesaid upgradation, the competent authority belatedly issue a sanction dated 27.03.2021 for release of salary arrears in favour of the applicant, but the bill could not be prepared due to a default in the JK Pay System, which fact was factually incorrect as there was no glitch in the system as per reply to the RTI given by BDO Suchetgarh.
It is submitted by learned counsel for the applicant that arrears of salary to the tune of Rs. 3,10,029/- which has been sanctioned in favour of the applicant by the respondents to be released in favour of the applicant, has not been released till date, which is causing hardship to the applicant, who had retired on 31.08.2022
Learned counsel further submitted that applicant would be satisfied, at this stage, if a direction is issued to respondents to release the arrears of salary of the applicant, which has already been sanctioned, within a time frame.
Mr. Sudesh Magotra, and Mr. Rajesh Thappa, learned AAGs, appearing on advance notice on behalf of the respondents seek some time to file reply.
From the perusal of the documentary record available, it is not disputed that applicant, despite her entitlement for the amount of Rs. 3,10,029/- as pending arrears claim in terms of Government Order No. 327-RD & PR of 2017 dated 11.12.2017, has not been paid the said amount till date.
The communication of Joint Director, Rural Development Department, Jammu dated 08.07.2025 addressed to respondent no. 1 further strengthens the case of the applicant that sanction has been sought from the respondent no. 1 for drawl of pending time barred arrear claim of the applicant amounting to Rs. 3,10,029/-, but no action has been taken by respondent no. 1 on the said communication.
Having heard the learned counsels for the parties and in view of the limited prayer made by learned counsel for the applicant, we are of the considered view that no useful purpose would be served in keeping this O.A. pending.
Accordingly, the Original Application is disposed of, at the admission stage, with a direction to respondents to implement the order dated 11.12.2017 passed by respondent no. 1, with the further direction to pay the arrears of salary to the tune of Rs. 3,10,029/- to the applicant which has already been sanctioned in her favour. The whole exercise shall be completed within a period of eight weeks from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this order.
With these directions, Original Application No. 1105 of 2026 stands disposed of.
No orders so as to costs.