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5. Border Roads Organization (hereinafter referred to as the "BRO") was set up in March 1960 for the expeditious execution of Road Works for development of communication in North and North - Eastern border areas of the country. BRO is a civil engineering institution responsible to provide civil (construction) engineering cover to the Armed Forces of India and under the administrative control of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India. BRO is staffed with a combination of Border Roads Engineering Services (BRES) officers from General Reserve Engineering Force (GREF) and officers from Corps of Engineering of Indian Army. Broadly, there are four cadres in BRO; namely: (i) Civil Engineering Cadre; (ii) Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Cadre; (iii) Administrative Officers (Non-Technical) Cadre and (iv) Medical Cadre. Out of the said four cadres, two cadres namely, civil engineering cadre and electrical and mechanical engineering cadre have been encadred as organized cadres. The petitioners in the two captioned writ petitions are/were the officers who are/were holding various Group A posts in the administrative officers cadre of BRO.

8. Pursuant to the afore-noted directions issued by Gauhati High Court, on 08.11.1995 the department carried out a review of the posts in the administrative officers cadre of BRO.

9. All this while, the officers working in the administrative officers cadre of BRO were making representations to the department that in view of the lack of promotional prospects in the administrative officers cadre which has a sizeable strength inasmuch as it consists of 130 Group A officers and plays an important role in the working of BRO the same be encadred as an organized cadre.

17. The first two reasons given by the department to refuse to encadre the administrative officers cadre as an organized cadre are wholly fallacious. The department has not correctly appreciated the tenor of the grievance raised by the officers working in administrative officers cadre in respect of non- encadrement of their cadre as an organized cadre. The grievance raised was that due to non-encadrement of the administrative officers cadre as an organized cadre there is lack of promotional prospects in the said cadre. It was not the grievance of the officers working in administrative officers cadre that they are being discriminated against their counterparts in the two engineering cadres and thus their cadre should also be encadred as an organized cadre like the two engineering cadres. The career progression of the officers working in the said two engineering cadres has only been referred to by the officers working in administrative officers cadre to demonstrate the lack of promotional prospects in their cadre. Thus, the approach of the department in drawing a comparison between administrative officers cadre and the two engineering cadres and thereby refusing encadrement to administrative officers cadre is totally non-focused. In any case, it is not correct to say that the administrative officers cadre does not play an important role in the working of BRO. BRO has a task force of approximately 42,000 personnel. The administrative officers cadre is responsible for assisting, advising and operating matters of discipline, administration and other matters relating to human behavior and motivation in personnel of BRO. The administrative officers cadre is also responsible for the general safety of unit lines, maintenance of regimental institutions, general administration matters, preservation of resources and liaison with other units on matters connected with execution of tasks assigned to them.

38. That being the position, the post of Civilian Officer Grade-I (Selection Grade) is not distinct from the post of Civilian Officer Grade-I. When the post of Civilian Officer Grade-I (Selection Grade) is not distinct from the post of Civilian Officer Grade-I F.R.22(I)(a)(1) has no application in the present case.

Conclusion

39. In view of above discussion, we conclude as under:-

I The department is directed to encadre the administrative officers cadre of BRO as an organized cadre. The department shall further decide whether the encadrement of administrative officers cadre of BRO as an organized cadre would take effect from a prospective or retrospective date within eight weeks of the receipt of this judgment. II The department is directed to make payment of special pay/headquarters allowance to the petitioners in W.P.(C) No.10121/2009 from the date said petitioners were posted in the headquarters of BRO.