JUDGMENT Sunil Ambwani, J.
1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner, and learned standing counsel.
2. The petitioner is serving as Head Muharrir as a confirmed employee of Nagar Panchayat, Moth, District Jhansi. By this writ petition, he has prayed for a direction to State of U.P. through Director, Local Bodies, Lucknow and Chairman, Nagar Panchayat Moth, District Jhansi to pay the entire arrears of salary and current salary to the petitioners which is due to her. The petitioner and other similarly situate employees were not paid salary from March 1997. This Court had made several attempts to persuade the respondents to clear the arrears. Sri K.K. Upadhayay, Director of Local Bodies, Allahabad was directed to file counter affidavit. His personal presence was exempted on 29.3.2004 as he was on Election Duty and an mandamus was issued directing the respondents to pay the salary to the petitioner beginning from 1.3,2004. The question of payment of salary from the funds allocated to the Nagar Panchayat was required to be considered on the date of hearing.
3. In the counter affidavit of Sri Amrit Lal, Executive Officer, Moth, District Jhansi an explanation has been offered for non-payment of salary. It is stated that he has passed an order on the representation made, by the petitioner on 8.1.2004 for payment of Rs. 1, 39, 830.00 as arrears of salary and pensions etc. The salary for only April, May, and June, 2003 was paid to him. It is admitted by the Nagar Panchayat that Rs. 1, 39, 830.00 is payable to the petitioner and that a total amount of Rs. 57,54,156.00 is due to be paid to other employees of the Nagar Panchayat. In para 5 it is stated that as soon as the funds will be made available to the Nagar Panchayat from the State Government, the arrears shall be paid. In para 6, details of income of Nagar Panchayat and expenditure has been provided. The total income of Nagar Panchayat from its own sources and the grants given by the State Finance Commission is only Rs. 16, 19, 000.00 per annum, where as the liability of the salaries of the staff and employees alone is Rs. 25, 20, 000/- per annum. The Nagar Panchayat collected only Rs. 5, 90, 000.00 from its own sources and has received grants from Stale Finance Commission of Rs. 11 lakhs in the year 2002-2003.
4. Sri K.K. Upadhyay, Director, Local Bodies, U.P. has filed a short counter affidavit on behalf of State Government. He submits that with the 74th Amendment of the Constitution of India, the Nagar Panchayats have become autonomous institutions. The State Finance Commission grants financial assistance to Nagar Panchayats for development works as per ratio of the population and the area of Nagar Panchayats. As per recommendations of State Finance Commission 7% of the total tax recovered by the State Government is provided to the local bodies, out of which 3.12% is given to Nagar Nigam, 3.12% to the 195 Nagar Palika Parishads and the rest 0.76% to the 417 Nagar Panchayats. This proportion has been fixed considering the ratio of population and the area of the local body. The Nagar Panchayat, Moth was given 13.47 lakhs in the year 2001-02, Rs. 14.01 lakhs in the year 2002-03, and Rs. 11.38 lakhs in the year 2003-04 from outside of the allocation made by the State Finance Commission. This amount is, given as grant for development work.
5. In paragraph 11 arid 12 of this affidavit, the Director, Local Bodies states that under Section 128 and Section 296 of U.P. Municipalities Act 1916, Local Bodies are liable to impose taxes/fees within its area. The State Government has issued directions from time to time to the Nagar Panchayats for enhancing of its revenues. The Nagar Panchayat in question has not made recoveries upto the mark. The Nagar Palika is also authorised to charge 2 % on all the transfers of immovable properties but no steps have been taken in this regard.
6. In para 14 and 15 of the counter affidavit of the Director, it is stated that in the heads of accounts of the Directorate, Local Bodes, U.P. there is no head to he made available for grant of payment] of salary/arrears to the employees of the local bodies. For this purpose the Nagar Panchyat is itself liable. The arrears of salaries shall be paid to the employees by the Nagar Panchayat in questions after improvement of its financial positions. In para 15, it is stated that the Nagar Panchayat; Moth has an income of Rs. 5, 27, 409/- whereas it is spending 2,08,190A- per month (Rs. 24, 98, 280/- per annum) towards salaries of its employees. There is no financial discipline at all and that the Nagar Panchayat is not using its resources to its full capacity. A Three-Member Committee has been nominated to look into the matter with regard to income and expenditure of Nagar Panchayats for the last three years.
7. From these affidavits filed by the Executive Officer of Nagar Panchayat and the Director of Local Bodies, the Court finds that the Nagar Panchayat has failed to maintain financial discipline. where the Nagar Panchayat is not able to pay salaries to its employees it has no justification to continue to function. The entire object and purpose of autonomy given to the local bodies was to allow them to (develop and to be governed by local conditions and aspirations. Whenever it is found that such purpose has not been achieved and that instead of carrying out any development work, the over staffed Nagar Panchayats are not able to recover the dues and even pay the salaries, the State Government must take statutory actions to dissolve local bodies and/or to take action for removing its Chairman and Executive Officers. In the present case, the financial condition of the Nagar Panchayat, Moth demonstrates that it has not recovered even the statutory dues from the residents and has failed to impose and recover the taxes, and has not imposed and recover statutory charges, and levies.
8. The Court takes judicial notice of the fact that almost all the Chairmen, and Deputy Chairmen and Executive Officers of Local Bodies have become lords and master of the area they survey. They are roaming about in a fleet of fancy cars station wagons and SUV's with their body guards. It is surprising as to how they maintain these cm, body guards, and commercial complexes when the local bodies are unable 1o pay the salaries of their employees. It has been demonstrated in thus case that the Nagar Panchayats, Moth has diverted the funds for development in the area for payment of salaries. It is, therefore, expedient that immediate action must be taken against the Nagar Panchayat, Moth.
9. The situation of most of the Nagar Panchayats, Nagar Palika Parishads and Nagar Nigams is the State. The State Government has a statutory duty to carry out enquiries into these matters and to take appropriate steps wherever it finds that the developments funds are being paid only towards salary and that local bodies are not realising the statutory dues, and carrying out statutory duties the State Government should not sit silent and must take immediate action, irrespective of the political parties to which these persons are allegiances or switch over, as they often do.
10. It is not for this Court to find out the means and sources for payment of arrears of salaries and pensions of the employees of the Nagar Panchayats. This matter must be looked into by the State Government which has a statutory duty to supervise the functions of Local Bodies.
11. The writ petition is allowed. The Nagar Panchayat, Moth is directed to pay the entire arrears to its employees within six weeks arid to pay current salary without any delay beginning from 1.6.2005. In case the directions have not been complied, it will be open to the State Government to take immediate action against the Nagar Panchayat, Moth and its President. The petitioner shall also be entitled cost of the writ petition.