Ajay Kumar Tripathi, J.

1. Heard counsel for the parties.

2. Petitioners in all these writ applications are employees of various Command Area Development Agency. Some of the petitioners are working with Sone Command Area Development Agency and others under Gandak Command Area Development Agency (hereinafter to be referred to as the Agencies). These Agencies were established under resolution of the Government dated 1.10.1975. Subsequently vide, an Ordinance promulgated in the year 197 5 a statutory status was granted to these Agencies. It was finally converted into The Bihar Agricultural and Rural Area Development Agency Act 1978 i.e. Act 3 of 1979. In terms of this legislation, the Agencies are autonomous bodies in their own right and they have a Board of Directors for administration and control over these Agencies under Sec. 39 of the Act. These Agencies have powers to make Rules and Regulations for its governance the same is subject to prior approval of the State Government.

3. To meet the objects of these Agencies Central Government gives grant of 50% and the balance 50% is met by the State Government. The 50% grants received from the Central Government carries a rider that only 20% of the same shall be utilised on establishment whereas the rest has to be spent on various projects which are executed by these Agencies. The Agencies were supposed to create infrastructure for irrigation and other facilities within the command area of the concerned river to facilitate enhancement of agricultural output.

4. From the very beginning there have been two set of employees working with these command Agencies. One set were those who were appointed by the Agencies at their own level and the second set were those who were sent on deputation from Government of Bihar. For those who were sent on deputation from Government of Bihar they were treated as employees of the State of Bihar and, therefore, their service conditions, payment of salary etc. was responsibility of the State. For those employees who were appointed by the Agencies their payments used to be made by the Agencies from the grants received from the Central and the State Government released from time to time.

5. Case of these petitioners are that at no point of time the Agencies as such made their own Rules and Regulations. In the initial years itself resolutions were taken by the respective Boards to adopt the Rules and Regulations as available under Bihar Service Code and other related Rules in this regard. Initially there was difference in the pay scales which were being received by those working on deputation from the State Government and the employees of the Agencies. In case of Sone Command vide a resolution dated 15.2.1990 a decision was taken to pay revised pay scale to the employees of the Agency at par with the Government employees. In another decision dated 17.5.1990 the Board also decided to pay D.A., house rent allowance and other allowances to the employees of the Agencies as were available or applicable to the State Government employees. Case of the petitioners are that thereafter they have been getting revised scales whenever a revision was effected for the State Government employees. Last of them seems to be revision from 1.1.1996.

6. In later part of 2001 a meeting was held in the Agriculture Department for approval and release of money for the purpose of implementation of several schemes under Central Sponsored Development Work to be implemented by these Agencies. In this meeting some serious objections seems to have been raised with regard to payment of wages, salary and some emoluments to the employees of the Agencies. A Committee was supposedly setup to enquire. On 14.2.2002 the Secretary, Agriculture, Government of Bihar wrote a letter to various Command Agencies to supply information and the outlay both on revised and unrevised scales. Further communication dated 5.3.2002 contained in Annexure-13 was sent directing the Agencies to furnish details