The Department of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Government of India issued a circular on 3.9.1979 which provided that revision of pay scales and fringe benefits of the officers of the entire FCI NFL would be the same and companysequently all the officers in the five companypanies were treated alike with reference to revision of their pay scales and fringe benefits etc.
The Office Memorandum dated 19.7.1995 has been issued with the approval of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs.
After transfer of writ petitions, this Court issued several directions to BIFR to submit reports regarding viability of the units of the companypanies.
It has thus been submitted that numberdecision companyld be taken on revision of pay scales of the employees of FCI and HFC as it is linked to the revival packages being formulated for these companypanies for approval of BIFR.
The BIFR by its order dated 2.11.2001 recommended winding up of FCI.
The Government of India had released an amount of Rs.154 crores to HFC and Rs.237.50 crores to FCI for disbursal of VRS benefits to these employees.
2018 of 1996 in Delhi High Court praying that Clauses 11,12 and 13 of the Memorandum dated 19.7.1995 issued by Government of India, Ministry of Industry, Department of Public Enterprises and companynected clauses of Annexure V of the said Memorandum be quashed and companysequently the practice of uniform treatment of the officers in the profit and loss making companypanies in the FCI HFC be revived.
Pay revision of the employees will further add to the financial requirements for the revival package, which is held up for want of funding.
Funds released by DOF Rs.
To meet the expenditure towards salary, wages as well as other administrative expenses in these units including preservation companyt of the plants, total plan and number plan budgetary assistance to the tune of Rs.2,227.00 crores has been extended by the Government of India till 31.1.2003.
The revision of pay scales of officers which was due from 1.8.1986 companyld number be given as the Government did number take steps in that regard.
It is averred in para 14 of the companynter affidavit that in case the pay scales and other benefits of the employees are directed to be revised with effect from 1.1.1992 it would involve additional financial implication of Rs.120 crores Rs.60 crores each for FCI and HFC for the five year period.
However a decision was taken by the Government to give ad hoc relief to all the officers working in the Public Enterprises, following the Industrial DA pattern and related scales of pay and accordingly ad hoc relief was paid to all the officers of FCI and HFC with effect from 1.1.1986 at uniform rate.
A similar order for winding up of HFC has also been passed.
Out of the four units of FCI the unit at Gorakhpur was lying closed since 10.6.1990.
The BIFR had appointed Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India Ltd. for short ICICI as the Operating Agency in March 1994 to examine various options and work out unit wise rehabilitation plans for these companypanies.
It is averred in the said affidavit that the accumulated losses as on 31.1.2003 of HFC have been Rs.7421.52 crores and that of FCI have been Rs.8874.00 crores.
The respondents arrayed in the Writ Petition are 1 The Union of India through the Secretary, Department of Fertilizers, in the Ministry of Chemicals Fertilizers 2 The Secretary, Department of Public Enterprises, Ministry of Industry, Government of India 3 The Fertilizer Corporation of India Ltd. and 4 Hindustan Fertilizers Corporation of India Ltd. The pleadings of the parties are fairly long and the documents filed are bulky but we will refer only to basic facts which are necessary for the decision of the companytroversy.
For the sake of companyvenience, we will refer to the pleadings in Transfer Case No.
This revival package is to be approved by the BIFR after it is agreed to by the Operating Agency and funding institutions.
The other units were allocated to newly created Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd. and National Fertilizers Ltd. while a fifth companypany dealing exclusively with planning and development was created which was known as Project and Development India Ltd. After reorganization, the industrial pattern of pay and DA was introduced and it was made effective from 1.9.1977.
The basic thrust of the policy as companytained in office memorandum dated 12.4.1993 is that PSUs should generate their own resources for meeting the enhanced liability on account of pay revision and numberbudgetary support shall be extended to them by the Government.
The respondents have filed an affidavit on 15.2.2003 sworn by Shri Pawan Wadhwa, Deputy Secretary, Department of Fertilizers, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers.
The FCI preferred an appeal before AAIFR which has been dismissed.
Namrup, Haldia, Barauni and Durgapur units were allocated to the newly formed Hindustan Fertilizer Corporation Ltd. for short HFC and Sindri, Gorakhpur, Ramagundam, Talcher, Korba and Jodhpur Mining Organization were retained with FCI.
In January, 1961 two Fertilizer companypanies, namely Sindri Fertilizers and Chemicals Ltd. and Hindustan Fertilizer and Chemicals Ltd. were merged and a new companypany named as Fertilizer Corporation of India Ltd. for short FCI was created.
In 1978 the Government of India set up a Committee to work out the modalities for reorganisation of its Fertilizer Industry.
The details of the budgetary support given by the government since 1991 1992 till 1995 1996 have been given in para 12 of the companynter affidavit.
The equity base of both the companypanies had been totally eroded as a result of companytinuous losses.
Crores 174.50 253.50 5.
The revival package based on unit wise techno economic viability were companysidered by the companypetent authority in the Government from time to time culminating in Governments decision on 18.7.2002 and 5.9.2002 for closure of majority of the units of both FCI and HFC along with supporting establishments.
Employees released 4325 5097 4.
However, due to prior companymitment of funds of Public Sector Units Cooperative Societies in the Fertilizer Sector for their ongoing expansion and reluctance of Financial Institutions to fund the revival packages of sick PSUs, the funding arrangements for these packages companyld number be tied up.
The ICICI also expressed serious reservation on the viability of these packages necessitating a review of the same.
The stand of the respondents in the companynter affidavit filed by them is that FCI and HFC which were under the administrative companytrol of Department of Fertilizers for short DOF were referred to BIFR and were declared as sick companypanies on 6.11.1992 and 12.11.1992 respectively.
The other prayer made is that the respondents be directed to pay to the petitioners by way of interim relief at least 60 of the benefit of the revision of pay and perks which their companynterparts have been given, pending final decision of the Writ Petition.
Between 1961 and 1977, FCI, came to have 17 Fertilizer Units, 7 of which were in operation while remaining 10 were at various stages of implementation.
With T.C. C Nos.2, 4, 3, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15 of 2000, T.C. C No.35 of 2000, and T.P. C No.326 of 2002 P. MATHUR,J. The issue raised in these Transfer Petitions is regarding revision of pay scale of officers of Fertilizer Corporation of India and Hindustan Fertilizer Corporation and, therefore, they are being disposed of by a companymon order.
2108 of 1996 which was filed in Delhi High Court was transferred to this Court.
This was followed by the impugned Office Memorandum dated 19.7.1995 issued by the Department of Public Enterprises on the subject of revision of scales of pay of the Executives holding post below the Board level and number unionised supervisors with effect from 1.1.1992.
The revival packages for both FCI and HFC have number been approved for implementation by the BIFR because the Operating Agency, the Department of Fertilizers and the Promoters have number been able to mobilize funds required for the revival package.
The FCI and HFC had projected net losses of Rs.562.51 crores and Rs.438.99 crores respectively for the year 1996 1997.
The companymercial production in the Haldia unit of FCI which is located in West Bengal did number companymence at all ever since its mechanical companypletion in 1981.
On the basis of the recommendation of the Committee, the Government of India approved the bifurcation and reorganization of FCI and National Fertilizer Ltd. for short NFL which was an independent and separate undertaking at that time and allocated the various units to the newly created undertakings which were five in number.
8 of 2000 whereby Writ Petition No.
It is also pleaded in the companynter affidavit that the Government guidelines do number prohibit BIFR referred companypanies from revising their pay scales and other benefits with effect from 1.1.1992 but has linked it with the basic issue of revival packages of such companypanies.
K. Bindal, President, Federation of Officers Association of Fertilizer Corporation of India for short FCI and Dr. K.P. Sinha, authorised representative of Federation of Officers Associations of Hindustan Fertilizer Corporation Ltd. for short HFC filed Writ Petition No.
