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prayer clauses 'B' and 'C' in Writ Petition No.10020 of 2025 read as under :

"(B) By issuing writ of Mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order or direction as the case may be, the respondent authorities may kindly be directed to give / release the benefits of Ekstar (one step from the initial date of pay scale) from appointment as per G.R. dated 06.08.2002 and 29.02.2024 as they are working in Tribal / PESA / difficult area and direct the respondents to pay the salary of the petitioners as per the Ekstar (one step pay scale) till the petitioners working in Tribal / PESA / difficult area and consequential benefits including arrears.

4 Heard learned Advocate appearing for petitioners in all these petitions. The petitioners are working in Zilla Parishad - School. The school of Petitioners is located in tribal area and since the initial date of appointment, the petitioners are officiating their duties in the Tribal / PESA / difficult area and even till today they are working there. Respondent No.1 had issued Government Resolution dated 06.08.2002 and decided to give additional benefit of one step pay scale to the employees working in Tribal / PESA area. However, the respondents have not given the effect of said Government Resolution to petitioners. There is no noting in the service record of petitioners to that effect. Respondent No. 6 had granted time bound promotion pay scale after completion of 12 years service to petitioners. Even the 7th Pay Commission has been made applicable, however, Respondent Nos.6 and 7 have without any order or behind the back of the employees withdrawn Ekstar (one step pay scale) on the ground that time bound promotion / senior pay scale / Chattopadhyay is made applicable to them. Petitioners are similarly situated and Gadchiroli Zilla Parishad had 6 963_WP_10020_2025+40 rightly interpreted Government Resolution dated 06.08.2002 and then clarified on 18.11.2014 that effect is required to be given to the said Government Resolution dated 06.08.2002. Similar order was passed by Zilla Parishad, Chandrapur and, therefore, petitioners have approached this Court. 5 The first and the foremost fact that is required to be noted is that it appears that there was no representation made by petitioners to respondent Nos.5 to 8 and especially respondent No.6. Though in similarly situated Zilla Parishads, the Government Resolution might have been implemented, that does not mean that the representation should not be made by petitioners. The petitioners themselves have annexed copy of order passed by this Court in Dinesh Eknath Patil and others vs. The State of Maharashtra and others in Writ Petition No.13241 of 2024 passed on 04.12.2024, wherein it appears that respondent No.6 was Chief Executive Officer. This Court had then directed that Respondent - Chief Executive Officer, Zilla Parishad, Nandurbar shall scrutinize the record of those petitioners and the places at which they were deployed for performing their duties and then decide regarding the implementation of Government Resolution. In fact, present respondent No.6 ought to have then scrutinized the record of all the employees under the Zilla Parishad School and ought to have taken a decision once for all for all the employees. Again it appears that 7 963_WP_10020_2025+40 bunch of employees filed Writ Petitions bearing Nos. 8788 of 2025, 8800 of 2025, 3977 of 2025 and 6856 fo 2025, which came to be decided by this Court on 21.07.2025. Therein also Chief Officer, Zilla Parishad, Nandurbar was party and similar directions have been given. We intend to issue similar directions in respect of petitioners also, however, before that the petitioners should file a representation to respondent No.6. Learned AGP informs that Government had also taken out Government Resolution dated 14.08.2008, wherein clarification has been issued and then it is stated that the scheme is not applicable to those employees who are working in the tribal and PESA area and were never transferred from such area to other areas and, therefore, while giving directions note be taken in respect of said Government Resolution.

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(iii) The cases which are without any legal impediment after verification, shall be cleared by respondent No.6 and the salary benefits, to which the petitioners are entitled to, in the light of one-step pay scale made available to the employees working in Tribal and PESA areas, shall be paid to them along with arrears as well as their current salary, within a period of 30 days, thereafter.