JUDGMENT
Ashim Kumar Banerjee, J.
1. The first batch of the petitioners are the confirmed Scale-II officers of Sagar Gramin Bank whereas the second batch petitioners are enjoying promotional post of Scale – II officers subject to the result of an appeal pending between both the said groups.
2. Sagar Gramin Bank is a rural bank set up in the district of North 24-Parganas. There are about 115 branches throughout the district. The said bank is having control of the United Bank of India as its sponsored bank. Initially there had been several anomalies with regard to the pay fixation of the bank employees. In terms of an order of the Apex Court, National Industrial Tribunal was set up by the Central Government for the said purpose. The said Tribunal published an award fixing the pay of the employees of the bank at par with the State Government Employees for a particular period and for the subsequent period thereafter at par with the employees of this sponsored banks. An equation committee had been set up for the purpose of dealing with each and every cases for equating with the sponsored bank employees commensurate with the work done by the employees of the bank. Accordingly, the employees of the concerned bank had been given respective designations as per the recommendation of the equation committee.
3. So far as the concerned bank was concerned, the branches were being headed by the various Branch Managers being Scale I officers. There were Area Managers/ Senior Managers being Scale II officers and the post of General Managers had been given to the Scale III officers. The equation committee at the time of submission of their report observed that there might be a need to review such recommendations in future at an appropriate time when the level of business and operations could grow substantially and there might be a number of branches to be manned by Scale II officers and correspondingly post of Area Managers and General Managers might have to be upgraded to Scale III and Scale IV respectively. This report was submitted by the equation committee as far back in 1991. The Central Government approved the recommendations of the equation committee by its letter dated 22nd February, 1991.
4. So far as the subject bank is concerned, in course of time there had been in fact upgradation of 47 branches because of increase of volume of business. Since those branches were upgraded the post of Branch Managers in those branches were also upgraded and Scale II officers were asked to head those branches. The petitioners being the Area Managers are now praying for upgradation for the post of Area Managers from Scale II to Scale III as a consequence thereof.
5. It was contended that since those 47 branches were now manned by Scale II officers as the Branch Managers the Area Managers/ Senior Managers having supervisory control over the branches should be upgraded to Scale III and since the petitioners were working as Area Managers/ Senior Managers they should be upgraded from Scale II to Scale III. In fact some of the Area Managers/ Senior Managers had been asked to take over the charge as Branch Managers in those upgraded branches that had given rise to the second set of litigation being the third writ petition mentioned above.
6. By a further circular issued by NABARD on 31st July, 2001 branches had been categorised in three different groups which is as follows:-
Business level Category of branch Incumbency of
Branch Manager
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Upto Rs. 2 crore Small Branch Officer in Scale I
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Above Rs. 2 crore upto Medium Branch Officer in Scale II
Rs. 12.50 crore
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Above Rs. 12.50 crore Large Branch Officer in Scale III
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7. To decide this issue some of the relevant recommendations of the equation committee need be quoted below:--
"2.12.4 The representatives of Sponsor Banks suggested two alternatives which are discussed hereunder:--
Senior Managers and Area Managers were drawing the pay scale of Branch Managers plus 10% of basic pay. After equating the latter with the officers in JMG Scale I, they might be given 10% of their basic pay as functional allowance as was being done so far.
OR
As the nature of duties performed and the responsibilities discharged by Area Managers and Senior Managers were higher than that of Officers/ Branch Managers/ Officers and as Branch Managers should be in the category of JMC Scale I it would be fair to fit the Area Managers/ Senior Managers in MMG Scale II of Sponsored Banks.
2.12.5 The Chairman of RRBs were almost unanimous on equating the Senior Managers and Area Managers with Officers in MMG Scale of Sponsor Banks. 2.12.6 The Associations demanded that the posts of Senior Managers/ Area Managers should be kept well above the Scale II of Sponsor Banks pay-scales as according to them the Branch Managers who were below them should be equated with Scale II. They further contended that the Area Managers/ Senior Managers were looking after 35/40 branches similar to the Regional Managers in Sponsor Banks who were in Scales IV and V. The Associations further maintained that they were not demanding Scale V for all these Officers. But they should be equated with Scale III. However, if on such fitment their basic pay is concurrent in both Scales III and IV then they should be fitted in Scale IV. 2.12.7 The following aspects were considered by the committee:
(i) In times to come, the RRB Officers would have to move to higher posts in their hierarchy by gradually replacing deputationists from the Sponsor Banks. The Chairman of RRBs were from Scale IV to Scale VI. The General Managers who were deputed from Sponsor Banks are normally one or two ranks below the Chairmen. Hence, the General Managers in RRBs were in Scale III barring a few exceptions. If Area Managers and Senior Managers are not to be equated with Scale II but only with Scale I, there would be a wide gap or vacuum at MM II level and no officers with requisite experience would be available for replacing the General Managers in Scale III in course of time.
(ii) In order to build up the cadre of officers from within the RRB Staff it would be desirable to equate the Senior Manager/ Area Manager at a level higher than Scale I Officers.
(iii) The Officers/ Branch Managers in RRBs who have put in 8 years of service only were eligible for the posts of Senior Managers/ Area Managers. The position in Sponsor Banks from Scale I to Scale II was also more or less the same.
(iv) There was no provision in Sponsor Banks’ pay structure to give any functional allowance in JMG Scale I and introduction of such an allowance in RRBs may not be in accordance with the Award.
Therefore, the post of Senior Managers/Area Managers may have to be equated with a post higher than Scale I in Sponsor Banks.
The Committee has also considered the following further points:
(i) There were no comparable posts of Area Managers/ Senior Managers in Sponsor Banks.
(ii) There was no separate pay-scale prescribed for the post of Area Managers/ Senior Managers in RRBs. They drew 10% of the basic pay of the Officers/ Branch Managers as Special Allowance.
(iii)a) The Area Managers supervised the branches under their charge without any administrative or operational controlling powers. On the contrary, the Regional Managers were controlling authorities which include operational powers like sanction of loans and advances beyond the powers of Branch Managers, and administrative powers such as transfers, placements, sanction of leave to Branch Managers, acting as competent authority for the Award Staff etc.
(b) The Regional Managers were generally in the scale IV or V posts which were reached only after sufficiently long innings of service in each grade below the Regional Managers’ grade.
(v) The Senior Managers/Area Managers posts are promotional posts from the posts of Officers/ Branch Managers of the RRBs and hence logically they must be given only the next higher scale.
2.12.8 In view of the foregoing the Committee came to the conclusion that the posts of Area Managers/ Senior Managers should be equated with that of MMG Scale II in concerned Sponsor Banks and recommends accordingly. 2.13.8 The Committee has carefully considered the above suggestions. As the Committee has in para 2.12.8 hereinabove had concluded that the Senior Managers/ Area Managers should be equated with MMG Scale II of sponsor banks, as a logical consequence the Committee recommends that the General Managers should be equated with the next higher pay scale viz. Scale III (MMG Scale III). While the recommendations of the Committee in respect of equation of Area Managers/ General Managers to MM II and MM III level officers of sponsor banks hold good for the present, there may be a need to review this in future at an appropriate time. If the level of business and operations of RRBs grow substantially and if a No. of branches are manned by MM II Scale Officers the posts of Area Managers/ General Managers may have to be upgraded to the level of MM III and SM IV grades respectively."
8. It is not in dispute that in view of the upgradation of branches an administration complication had arisen which need be resolved. However, the approach made by the petitioners in construing the recommendations of the equation committee is not acceptable to me for the reasons hereinafter stated.
9. The National Industrial Tribunal published the award equating the employees of the rural bank at par with the employees of the sponsor banks from a particular period. Considering the business of those rural banks at that particular point of time fitment was made by the concerned authority as per recommendation of the equation committee. Difficulty which had arisen in the recent past was anticipated by the equation committee as had been recorded in their report as 2.13.8. Such situation had evolved due to upgradation of 47 branches. One does not know whether all those 115 branches would be upgraded in rear feature in view of increase of the volume of business.
10. The designation of various posts are in my view consistent. Those posts would be manned by which Scale of officers is a variable factor. There are admittedly five scales in the officers grade in the Bank. If one is to be promoted to the next scale he would have to undergo a promotional process. There can not be any automatic promotion from one scale to the other scale without going through regular promotional process. The petitioners are at present Scale II officers. If they want to go to Scale III they would have to participate in the promotional process as and when those are conducted by the Management. Such promotion has nothing to do with the duty entrusted to them by the Management from time to time. It would appear from the structure of the branches as categorized by the NABARD on 31st July, 2001 on which reliance was placed, by the petitioners themselves that the incumbency of Branch Manager would vary from one branch to the other according to their categorization. If one has to accept the interpretation of the petitioner of the equation committee report it would mean that a Branch Manager of Scale I working in a small branch would automatically became Scale II officers simultaneously with the upgradation of the said branch. Such construction is not only illogical but also has no basis at all. It is true that the posts of Area Managers/ Senior Managers being manned by Scale II officers having supervisory control over the upgraded branches being manned by Scale II officers as Branch Managers would cause administrative problems. These aspects are to be looked into and gone into by the Management of the bank in consultation with the sponsored bank. However, this problem and/or complication can not ipso facto entitle the petitioners to obtain automatic promotion in Scale III as claimed herein. Similarly, if some of the petitioners had been asked by the Management to man the upgraded branches as Branch Managers it can not be termed as a demotion. It is absolutely a simple transfer and/or realingment of duties entrusted to the petitioners because of administrative exigency.
11. In the result, writ petitions fail and are hereby dismissed. There would be no order as to costs.
12. Urgent xerox certified copy will be given to the parties, if applied for.