JUDGMENT

B.P. DAS, J. — The petitioner-The Orissa Printers & Binders Mahasangha being represented by its President, Sri Rabindranath Kar, has filed this writ petition challenging the resolution made on 25.8.2009 by the State Government in the Department of School & Mass Education under Annexure-1 deciding to invite national tender with regard to printing of Nationalised Text Books for the academic session 2010-11 and the Tender Call Notice issued by the Director, Text Book Production & Marketing, Bhuba¬neswar, O.P.3, on 11.2.2010 in the local newspaper “The Samaj” (Annexure-7), which according to the petitioner, contravenes the Industrial Policy Resolution 1988 to 2009 issued by the State Government in Industries Department.

2. The case of the petitioner, in brief, is that it is a member of the Small Scale Industry, which involves in the busi¬ness of printing and binding of books and the association comprises of 5000 printing presses and binding units, which were set up under the approval of the respective District Industries Centers and come with the meaning of Small Scale Industries. Nearly 70000 workers including Technicians, Skilled and Unskilled Labourers have been engaged in this trade and they mainly depend upon the printing presses to earn their livelihood.

According to the petitioner, in the Industrial Policy Reso¬lution 1980, several incentives were given to Small Scale Indus¬tries Units (SSI Units) and the Policy of the State Government is to ensure that those SSI Units get marketing support and the said marketing support includes facility of preferential purchase of the products manufactured by those industries by the State Gov¬ernment Departments and Agencies under its control. A Purchase Review Committee has been constituted with the Additional Chief Secretary to Government as its Chairman and the Secretaries to Government, Finance Department and Industries Department and the Director, Export, Promotion and Marketing as its Members to review and see proper implementation of the policies by the State Government Departments and the Agencies under its control.

According to the petitioner, the benefits of the Industrial Policy Resolution, as indicated above, were enjoyed by the peti¬tioner for more than 15 years as the petitioner was entrusted with the work of printing and binding of text books by O.P.1 and the decision taken under Annexure-1 for floating national tender for printing and binding of text books will take away the bread of thousands of workers and the same is also in violation of the statutory provision, as contained in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006 as well as the Industrial Policy Resolution 2007.

3. Our attention was drawn to the contents of the writ petition wherein it is averred that the Orissa Industrial Policy Resolution 2007 contemplates of marketing support to micro and small enterprises in Government procurement in consonance with the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006 and the corresponding rules.

4. The sum and substance of the argument of Mr. Kanungo, learned counsel for the petitioner, is that the resolution under in Annexure-1 is contrary to the statutory provision and the benefit conferred by the statutory provision cannot be taken by an executive decision and, therefore, the decision in Annexure-1 for floating national tender for printing and binding of text books is illegal, arbitrary and liable to be quashed.

5. By order dated 18.2.2010, this Court while issuing notice to the O.Ps. directed that till the next date, no final decision would be taken with regard to the Tender Call Notice dated 11.2.2010 under Annexure-7 and the said interim order is still continuing.

6. In the counter affidavit filed on behalf of O.Ps. 1 & 3, a stand has been taken that under the policy frameworks of I.P.R. 2007 and the Orissa M.S.M.E. Development Policy, 2009, it has been made mandatory for the State Government Departments and the agencies under its c