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Judgment
Rameshwar Vyas, J
By way of filing the instant OA, the applicant prays for direction to the respondents to grant him 3rd financial upgradation in the pay band of Rs 9300-34800 with grade pay of Rs 4200/- w.e.f. 01.01.2006 under Modified Assured Career Progression Scheme [MACPS] with consequential benefits including arrears and fixation of his pay.
The facts necessary to adjudicate this OA are as under:-
2.1 The applicant was initially appointed to the post of Safaiwala/Khalasi on 30.12.1977. Thereafter, he got promotions as under :
Post
Date
Promotion
From
To
Safaiwala
Mason Gr. III
20.11.1982
1st Promotion
Mason Gr III
Mason Gr. II
22.07.1986
2nd Promotion
Mason Gr II
Mason Gr. I
29.09.1988
3rd Promotion
2.2 Vide letter dated 29.07.1983 (Annex. A/3), restructuring of certain Group ‘C’ & ‘D’ was implemented. After restructuring, vide order dated 14.08.1989 (Annex. A/5), the pay of the applicant was fixed in the pay scale of Rs 380-560/- w.e.f. 01.01.1984.
2.3 It is the case of the applicant that on account of above restructuring, his promotion from the post of Mason Gr. II to Mason Gr. I became of no consequence. He continued to remain in the same grade till his retirement on 31.10.2014 in the pay band of Rs 5200-20200 with grade pay of Rs 2800/-. It is averred that the applicant enjoyed only two effective promotions, one from Safaiwala to Technician Gr. III on 20.11.1982 and another to Technician Gr. I w.e.f. 01.01.1984 and completed 10 years’ service on 01.01.1994 itself and 30 years’ service on 31.12.2007.In this way, he became entitled for grant of 3rd financial upgradation under MACPS w.e.f. 01.09.2008 as per policy in vogue. The applicant was not granted 3rd financial upgradation under MACPS and retired in the pay band of Rs 5200-20200 with grade pay of Rs 2800/ vide PPO dated 30.10.2014 (Annex. A/1). The applicant strived hard to get his grievances redressed through departmental channels and submitted numerous representations. A copy of one of such representations dated 21.07.2017 is filed at Annex. A/7.
2.4 Seeking modification of the PPO dated 30.10.2014 (Annex. A/1), the applicant has prayed to allow this OA.
2.5 As per reply filed by the respondents, the present OA is barred by law of limitation. The respondents vide various letters have informed the applicant that he was not entitled to get any benefit under MACPS. The applicant did not utter a single word in respect of the reply sent to him. The applicant got 3rd promotion to the post of Mason Gr. I w.e.f. 29.08.1988. It is admitted that the applicant was extended the benefit of promotion of Mason Gr. I w.e.f. 01.01.1984 under the restructuring of the cadre. It is the specific reply of the respondents that the applicant had got three promotions. It is averred that an employee cannot be promoted directly from the post of Mason Gr. III to Mason Gr. I. The applicant was promoted from the post of Mason Gr. III to Mason Gr. II and thereafter, Mason Gr. II to Mason Gr. I. Denying the claim of the applicant, the respondents prayed to dismiss the OA.
2.6. The applicant filed a rejoinder reiterating his stand. It is contended in rejoinder that the applicant completed 10 years’ service on 01.01.1994 in the same grade.
Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the material available on record.
It is contended by learned counsel for the applicant that after restructuring of the pay scale, the applicant was granted the pay scale of Mason Gr. I w.e.f. 01.01.1984, therefore, his promotion from the post of Mason Gr. II to Mason Gr. I should not be counted for the purpose of grant of financial upgradation under MACPS.
On the contrary, learned counsel for the respondents submitted that a person cannot directly be promoted from Mason Gr. III to Mason Gr. I. The applicant got benefit of restructuring after getting three promotions from the post of Safaiwala to Mason Gr.III, Mason Gr.III to Mason Gr.II and lastly Mason Gr.II to Mason Gr.I respectively. The financial upgradation under MACPS is granted when a person does not get promotions or financial upgradation on completion of 10, 20 or 30 years’ regular service.
Having regard to the contentions raised by learned counsel for the parties and material available on record, it remains not in dispute that the applicant got three promotions as aforesaid. It is true that after restructuring of the cadre, the applicant was granted benefit of pay fixation on promotion to the post of Mason Gr. I from retrospective date, i.e. 01.01.1984. In our considered view, granting the benefit of promotion on the post of Mason Gr. I from the retrospective date on account of restructuring of the cadre cannot be ignored for the purpose of granting financial upgradation under MACPS. It is not equivalent to merger of the pay scale. Furthermore, a person appointed to the post of Safaiwala and promoted to the post of Mason Gr. III could not get further promotion directly to the post of Mason Gr. I without being promoted to the post of Mason Gr. II. Hence, the 2nd promotion to the applicant granted on the post of Mason Gr. II cannot be ignored for the purpose of grant of financial upgradation under MACPS. The object of the MACPS is to give benefit of financial upgradation in cases where an employee does not get promotion or financial upgradation at the interval of 10, 20 and 30 years of regular service. The benefit of this Scheme is not available to an employee who has already got three promotions in his promotional hierarchy.
In view of the above, we are of the opinion that the respondents committed no error in rejecting the prayer of the applicant to grant him financial upgradation under MACPS on completion of 30 years’ regular service.
The instant OA is misconceived, hence, dismissed with no order as to costs.