O R D E R

The order of rejection, rejecting the claim of the writ petitioners for reckoning the period of services rendered by them in the Tamil Nadu Cooperative Oilseeds Growers Federation Ltd [TANCOF] as qualifying services under Rule 11 of the Tamil Nadu Pension Rules, 1978, is under challenge in the present writ petition.

2. The petitioners joined the services of Tamil Nadu Cooperative Marketing Federation Ltd [TANFED], which was subsequently converted as Tamil Nadu Cooperative Oilseeds Growers Federation Ltd [TANCOF]. TANCOF is a Cooperative Society registered under the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Cooperative Societies Act, 1983. In view of the financial loss occurred in the TANCOF Cooperative Society winding up proceedings were initiated under Section 137 of the Tamil Nadu Cooperative Societies Act, 1983 [hereinafter referred to as the 'Act', in short]. The Government took a policy decision to absorb all the TANCOF employees into the Agriculture Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu. Accordingly, an order was passed in G.O.Ms.No.142, Agriculture Department, dated 04.06.2002.

3. The absorption of employees were made by creating certain posts and by granting pay protection to the employees. The Chairman and Managing Director of TANCOF sent proposals for transfer of the Agriculture Extension Wing of TANCOF along with its staff to the control of the Commissioner of Agriculture. In the proposals, the Managing Director has stated that the Agriculture Extension Wing, which is having 11 cadres comprising both Agriculture Extension Wing with Ministerial staff numbering 151 in six Area Offices and two Units in Neyveli viz., Area Agronomic Centre and Training Centre, is implementing the Centrally Sponsored Schemes and State Schemes in its Project Districts and involved in seed production and distribution to the member of the oilseeds growers societies and to Department of Agriculture and has requested that the staff attached to the above mentioned Units may be transferred to the control of the Commissioner of Agriculture in the equivalent posts. The equivalent posts also identified and accordingly, all those employees, including the petitioners, were transferred to the Department of Agriculture under the control of the Commissioner of Agriculture. Accordingly, 151 staff, attached to these Units under the control of the Commissioner of Agriculture, were absorbed subject to maintaining separate identity. The Government accordingly passed the following orders:-

“(i) The Centrally Sponsored Schemes and State Schemes and production and distribution of seeds and other related functions now performed by TANCOF shall be transferred to the Commissioner of Agriculture with immediate effect.

(ii) The Area Agronomic Centre and Training Centre at Neyveli and the Area Offices at Tiruvannamalai, Cheyyar, Virudhachalam, Madurai, Erode and Tirunelveli with all the posts attached to it and all infrastructure available shall be transferred to the control of Commissioner of Agriculture.

(iii) The following categories of post of TANCOF along with incumbents as detailed in the annexure to this order shall be absorbed in the Department of Agriculture subject to maintaining a separate identity by creating equal number of posts by relaxing the ban orders for creation of new posts issued in G.O.Ms.No.463, Finance Department, dated 23.11.2001:

S.No.	Post in TANCOF	No. of Post
1.	Deputy General Manager	1
2.	Area Manager	4
3.	Production Officer	9
4.	Office Superintendent	7
5.	Extension Assistant	53
6.	Assistant	34
7.	Junior Assistant	11
8.	Typist/Steno-Typist	5
9.	Driver	9
10.	Calendar	1
11.	Office Assistant	8
12.	Watchman	9
	Total	151

(iv) The employees, so absorbed shall be treated as Government Servants from the date of issue of this order.

(v) The pay of all concerned shall be protected.

(vi) The leave earned in TANCOF shall be transferred to the Department of Agriculture. (vii) The employer's contribution towards Employees

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