V.V.S.Rao, J.

1. These three writ petitions by the Government of Andhra Pradesh, and the Commissioner & Director of Municipal Administration are filed against three separate orders of the Andhra Pradesh Administrative Tribunal. The point involved being the same, this common order shall dispose of all the three writ petitions. Be it also noted that W.P.Nos.24130 and 24344 of 2011 are filed against those orders of the Tribunal which were passed on 09.9.2008 and 24.10.2008 respectively, with a delay of almost three years whereas the W.P.No.24330 of 2011 is filed against the order of the Tribunal dated 27.10.2010. It would be suffice to notice the factual background in W.P.No.24130 of 2011 because in other two matters, there is similar factual matrix.

2. The first respondent was appointed as public health worker on 12.8.1991. The appointment was made by the Commissioner of Repalle Municipality, the second respondent. From 1993, in terms of various Government Orders, he was also extended benefit of revised pay scales from time to time. He was also placed in the time scale of pay and was given periodical increments. In 2008, he was denied the annual grade increments based on the audit report. Therefore, he filed O.A.No.7088 of 2008 praying for a direction to the Commissioner of the Municipality and other respondents therein to release the annual grade increments from the date of payment of minimum time scale along with arrears. In his O.A., he placed reliance on the earlier decision of the Tribunal in O.A.No.7915 of 2002 dated 26.8.2002 which was confirmed by the Division Bench of this Court in W.P.No.27214 of 2005 dated 23.8.2006.

3. By order dated 09.9.2008, the learned Tribunal disposed of O.A. No.7088 of 2008 in terms of the orders in O.A.No.1558 of 2007 dated 26.3.2007 which in turn followed the orders in O.A.No.7915 of 2002. In the other two writ petitions similar claims were made and they were allowed by the learned Tribunal following the earlier orders referred to herein above. Therefore, it is necessary to briefly refer to these orders.

4. O.A.No.7915 of 2002 was filed by twelve public health maistries in Bhongir Municipality for a direction to release periodical increments from 12.12.1998 from which date they were given minimum time scale. They also prayed for extension of revised pay scales 1999. All of them had worked for more than 10 to 16 years as NMRs and they were admitted to minimum time scale of pay from December, 1998. The learned Tribunal allowed the said O.A. on 26.8.2002 following the decision of the Supreme Court in Dharwad District PWD Literate Daily Wages Employees’ Assn. v State of Karnataka (1990) 2 SCC 396 : AIR 1990 SC 883. Being aggrieved, the Commissioner, Bhongir Municipality assailed the order of the Tribunal in W.P.No.27214 of 2005. A Division Bench of this Court dismissed the writ petition on 23.8.2006 observing that there being no relief sought for regularization of service to apply the principles laid down in State of Karnataka v Umadevi (3) (2006) 4 SCC 1 : AIR 2006 SC 1806 and the only relief sought for is in regard to payment of arrears, no interference is called for with the order of the Tribunal. The Commissioner, Bhongir Municipal then approached the Supreme Court in SLP (C) No.6422 of 2007. The SLP was dismissed on 23.11.2009. We may also notice that the order of the Tribunal in O.A.No.7915 of 2002 was followed while disposing of the other O.As filed by the employees working in Municipalities, Municipal Corporations etc.

5. The learned Additional Advocate General would submit that the Tribunal relied on Dharwad Assn. in granting the relief in O.A.No.7915 of 2002; there is no such direction given therein; if the minimum pay scales are given to those public health workers, NMRs or public health maistries, who were not regularly appointed, it would, as held by the Full Bench in P.Subramanyam Reddy v State of Andhra Pradesh 2010(1) ALD 616 : 2010 (1) ALT 686, be contrary to the p