( 1 ) THIS petition is filed by the petitioner-Bin Rajyapatrit Technical Karmachari Mandal, a recognised Association by the Government of Gujarat, through its President and Secretary, for claiming parity of pay-scale for the cadre of Surveyors in the Town Planning and Valuation Department in the grade of Rs. 1640-2900 at par with the cadre of Additional Assistant Engineers in Roads and Buildings Department, whose grades have been revised with effect from 1. 4. 1992 and fixed at Rs. 1640-2900.

( 2 ) ACCORDING to the petitioners, they made several representations to the respondent-authority so as to treat them at par with the Additional Assistant Engineers in view of the fact that under the earlier two pay revisions, employees of these two cadres were treated at par in view of the fact that they performed the same nature of work, according to the petitioners.

( 3 ) IT is the case of the petitioners that the recruitment rules for the cadre of Surveyors in the Town Planning and Valuation Department were framed vide notification dated 17. 5. 1975, as produced by the petitioners at Annexure:a to the petition. According to the petitioners, as per the Gujarat Civil Service (Revision of Pay) Rules, 1975, cadre of Surveyors was placed in the scale of Rs. 425-700, which was further revised to Rs. 1400-2300 by the Gujarat Civil Service (Pay Revision) Rules, 1987.

( 4 ) ACCORDING to the petitioners, recruitment rules framed for the cadre of Additional Assistant Engineer (Civil), vide notification dated 5. 7. 1982, as produced by the petitioner at Annexure:b to the petition provided certain qualifications and criteria, which are also at par with the recruitment rules framed for the Surveyors of the Town Planning Department. According to the petitioners, basic qualification of Diploma in Civil Engineering is relevant criteria for appointment to the post of Surveyors as well as Additional Assistant Engineers. 4. 1 therefore, looking to the nature of work, functions and responsibility of both the cadres, the respondent-government has treated both the cadres, namely, Surveyors in the Town Planning Department and Additional Assistant Engineers at par in the matter of pay-scales and even Revision of Pay Rules of 1975 and 1987 had given them equal pay-scale of Rs. 425-700 and subsequently of Rs. 1400-2300 by Revision of Pay Rules, 1987.

( 5 ) THE petitioners have stated that various functions and duties to be performed by the Surveyors and Additional Assistant Engineers are, by and large, of the same nature and the details about the guidelines incorporated by the department of Town Planning are relied on by the petitioners to justify their claim for parity in pay at par with the Additional Assistant Engineers of P. W. D. Department.

( 6 ) THE main grievance as agitated and stated hereinabove by the petitioners is that the Government of Gujarat, vide notification dated 9. 10. 92 further revised pay-scales of the cadre of Additional Assistant Engineers (Civil) in the pay-scale of Rs. 1640-2900 with effect from 1. 4. 92. The said notification is produced at Annexure:d to the petition. According to the petitioners, various other departments have also revised pay-scales of Additional Assistant Engineers with effect from 1. 4. 92, which included Health and Family Welfare Department, Irrigation Department, Water Resources, Investigation Circles and Roads and Buildings Department, while the petitioners belonging to the cadre of Surveyors in the Town Planning and Valuation Department, who were treated as par with the Additional Assistant Engineers uptill ROP Rules of 1987 were not given the benefit of the said notification.

( 7 ) THEREFORE, the petitioners made representations to the government on 16. 11. 1992 with a a request to consider the case of the cadre of Surveyors at par with the Additional Assistant Engineers of all other departments and also to extend the same revision of pay-scale of Rs. 1640-2900. Even the Additional Chief Tow