( 1 ) ALL these petitions are having identical subject matter, and the remedies sought under Article 226 of the constitution of India are on the same line and, by an earlier order passed by the Court, they are ordered to be heard with Special Civil Application No. 612 of 1994. The matters are, therefore, listed together and, with the consent of the learned advocates for the parties, they are taken up for final hearing. SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 612 OF 1994

( 2 ) SO far as Special Civil Application No. 612 of 1994 is concerned, the case of the petitioners therein is that, originally, they were appointed in the year 1979 as work Charge Helpers in the Public Health Engineering department under the Health and Family Welfare Department of the Government of Gujarat. 2. 1 according to the petitioners,in the year 1981, the activities, which were performed by the Public Health engineering Wing under the Health and Family Welfare department have been transferred to Gujarat Water Supply and Sewerage Board, respondents Nos. 1 and 2 herein (hereinafter referred to as board for the sake of brevity ). The petitioners have stated that various posts have been sanctioned under various offices and units of the Public Health Engineering Wing were held in abeyance under the Government. However, the said posts were not abolished. According to the petitioners, since the Board had no separate recruitment rules, the recruitment rules applicable to the Public Health Engineering Circles have been made applicable to the employees of the Board till the date of filing of the petition. 2. 2. IT is further stated that, in the year 1986, all the 9 petitioners of Special Civil Application No. 612 of 1994 came to be promoted as Fitters on temporary establishment in the pay-scale of Rs. 350-560 with usual allowances available to such posts. The orders (Annexure "a" colly), by which the petitioners were promoted, state that the work charge helpers, like the petitioners, have been taken up as Fitters on temporary establishment on provisional basis in usual pay-scale of Rs. 350-560 with usual allowances available to such posts. At item No. 28 in the Schedule of pay-scale (Annexure "b") for various categories under the Public Health Engineering Circles, the post of Fitter, which carries revised pay-scale of rs. 350-560, is mentioned. 2. 3 according to the petitioners, in the said revision of Pay Rules and Schedule, the post of Fitter is mentioned as a single category and it is not divided into lower grade or higher grade or qualified or unqualified fitter. Not only that, but, according to the Gujarat civil Services (Revision of Pay) Rules, 1987, the petitioners, who were working as Fitters, got upward revision of their pay from Rs. 350-560 to Rs. 1200-2040 with retrospective from 1986, and the said post of Fitter figures in the revised pay-scale as such under the head of the Public Health and Engineering Circle. Therefore, according to the petitioners, there was only one cadre of fitter and there was no division such as lower or higher grade Fitters and, accordingly, the petitioners were drawing the pay-scale of Rs. 1200-2040 in the category of fitters since 1986. 2. 4 however, in the year 1993, the Board passed an order dated 3rd November 1993 and decided to revise the pay-scale of Fitter given to the petitioners from rs. 1200-2040 to Rs. 950-1400 on the ground that the petitioners had been temporarily promoted on provisional basis as Fitter and, in view of the conditional order of promotion of the petitioners in the year 1986 to the post of Fitter, the new pay-scale to be given to the petitioners is Rs. 950-1400, and not Rs. 1200-2040, which is available to the Fitter Grade-I (qualified higher grade), as is available in several departments, like Road and Building Department and Irrigation Department. 2. 5 being aggrieved by the said order dated 3rd november 1993, and the consequential orders passed by the superintending Engineer of the responde