( 1 ) THESE four petitions raising the following questions referred by two learned Single Judges are listed before us alongwith other cognate matters which are tagged with them. Questions Referred:

( 2 ) IN Special Civil Applications No. 4715 of 2003 and 4435 of 2001, the learned Single Judge, (H. K. Rathod, J.), by his order dated 4-12-2003, formulated six questions for referring them to the Larger Bench in the following terms;" (1) Whether the Forest Department and the Irrigation Department of the State can be said to be an industry within the meaning of Section 2 (j) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 or not ? (2) What is the correct law between the two different views/ratios laid down by two different Division Bench of this Court in case of PWD EMPLOYEES UNION THROUGH ITS SECRETARY, 1987[2] GLR 1070 wherein the Irrigation Department of the State is held to be an industry for the purpose of I. D. Act and decision of Division Bench of this Court in case of SHANKERJI CHELAJI THAKOR v. STATE OF GUJARAT reported in 2000 [1] GLH 482 and the recent decision in case of STATE OF GUJARAT v. D. B. THAKORE reported in 2003[2] GLH 420, wherein the Irrigation Department