2. Petitions admitted.

3. With the consent of the parties, these petitions are taken up for final disposal.

4. This plea of the respondent-Management in the matter of bringing about uniformity in the matter of age of retirement of employees working in all the units the Statutes dealing with the Industrial Laws. Age of retirement has been brought down from 60 to 58 years. It is this aspect of the matter which is being challenged by various unions of employees in the petitions enumerated in the schedule appended to this order.

5. Facts have been taken from writ petition No. 749 of 1995.

6. Salal Hydro Electric Project is one of the projects under taken by the National Hydro Electric Power Corporation Limited in the State of Jammu and Kashmir. This project sought modification of clause 24 of the certified standing orders. Under this clause the age of retirement was fixed at 60 years. At that particular point of time the workmen who came to look after the working, came from Government Department. As such they were governed by the service rules as applicable to the employees of the Central Works Department. As the age of retirement of work charged employees under th