( 1 ) IN this batch of 128 writ petitions, the petitioners, who are employed in the Work Charged Establishment and Provincial Establishment of the A. P. State Irrigation Development Corporation (for short the Corporation), as executive Engineers, Deputy Executive Engineers, Work Managers, Assistant executive Engineers, Assistant Engineers, Work Inspectors, Assistant geophysicists/assistant Hydrogeologists, Draftsmen, Electricians, Fitters, riggers, H. Ms. , N. T. Ms. , M. Ms. , P. Os. , Drillers, Tracers, Stenographers, assistant Section Officers, Assistants, Typists, Drivers, Helpers, cleaners, Lascars, Watchman, etc. , are assailing the individual notices issued to them by the respondent-Corporation, identifying them as surplus staff and requiring them to opt for VRS, on a number of grounds. Though a number of grounds have been urged by the learned counsel for the petitioners in support of this batch of writ petitions, they in essence have sought to attack their very identification as surplus, requiring them to opt for VRS. Inasmuch as the issues involved in this batch of writ petitions, are more or less identical, they were heard together and are being disposed of by this common judgment. The basic factual matrix of the matter, except for slight variations, having regard to the nature of appointment, the nature of post held by each of the individual employees, and the nature of work being done by them, is common in all the writ petitions. Therefore, instead of narrating the factual matrix of the matter, as projected in each of the writ petitions, I deem it expedient, to briefly set out the events that led to the identification of the petitioners as surplus, requiring them to opt for VRS.

( 2 ) THE Government of Andhra Pradesh with a view to explore the irrigation potential in the State through different methods and for the optimum utilization of the available ground water resources, conceived the idea of establishing Andhra Pradesh State Irrigation Development Corporation. With that idea in view, the Corporation was incorporated as a Government company under the provisions of Section 617 of the Companies Act, 1956, in the year 1974. The Corporation, which is a State Level Public enterprise (SLPE), is wholly owned by the Government of Andhra Pradesh. The Corporation was chiefly incorporated for carrying out the objects of, namely to survey, investigate, construct, execute and carry out schemes and works of all kinds for the exploitation of irrigation potential in the state and for optimum utilization of available water resources, to create irrigation facility to the upland areas through lift irrigation and ground water schemes on "no loss" and "no profit" basis.

( 3 ) AS on 31-3-2002, the paid-up share capital of the Corporation stood at Rs. 117. 22 crores, the predominant shareholder being the Government of Andhra pradesh with a shareholding of 99. 18%. The Corporation was and is engaged in the digging of bore wells, tube wells, infiltration wells, in addition to taking up lift irrigation schemes for the benefit of small and marginal farmers and other weaker sections of the society. The corporation, it is stated, had successfully executed 1,094 lift irrigation schemes and 19,138 ground water schemes creating irrigation potential for 7. 25 lakh acres of land. Since 1995, it is stated that the Corporation has been incurring losses and has been depending on non-plan grant-in-aid form the Government for sustaining its operations. As on 31-3-2002, the losses of the Corporation stood at Rs. 38-00 crores. The Corporation was availing refinance facilities from NABARD and other Banks, besides receiving subsidies from various agencies like District Rural Development agency (DRDA), Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA), A. P. Scheduled caste Corporation (APSCC) etc. According to the staffing pattern, as sanctioned by the Government, and approved by the Board of Directors of the Corporation, near about 2,541 empl