A long-drawn out legal battle waged by 'Makkal Nala Paniyalargal' (public welfare workers) for reinstatement after their dismissal by the state government in 2011 fructified today with the High Court direcing government to accomodate them in various departments as and when vacancies arise.
A division bench, comprising Justices N Paul Vasantha Kumar and M Sathyanarayanan, directed the state government to consider creating posts either in the name of MNPs or any other name for implementation of various schemes introduced by the present government and utilize their services.
The erstwhile DMK government had in 1989 appointed 25,239 MNPs that year. Of these, 12,618 alone were ordered to be reappointed when the party again came to power in 2001. Even among them some were appointed/absorbed as office assistant/Night watchmen in village panchayats.
AIADMK, which came to power in 2011, issued a Government Order in November 2011, disbanding the MNP posts, though their term held good upto May 31.
The workers individually and by a group of Sangams moved the High Court, challenging the G.O.
After several rounds of litigations, the matter was remitted back to the High Court for fresh consideration, as per the order of the Supreme court.
The three key issues were whether the G.O was valid, if they were entitled to seek regularization based on services rendered for about 11 years and if they were entitled to restoration in service/absorbed in any other post on facts by this division bench.
The bench said the object of employing MNP's was to promote adult education, non-formal education, to act as guide in rural sanitation for female MNP's maternity and child health services, promote small savings by propagating that agents will get commission and creating awareness among people by promoting anti-liquor campaign.
It directed the government to consider creating posts either in the name of MNP's or any other name to propagate the evils of consuming liquor as contemplated under Article 47 of the constituion, under which it is constitutionally obliged to do so, read along with Tamil Nadu Liquor Vending (in Shops and Bars) Rules 2003 for accommodating MNPs.
It also directed the government to create posts for implementation of new schemes introduced by it in the budget. The above exercise should commence immediately and be completed on or before October 31, 2014, the bench said.
If the government was unable to accommodate the MNPs within the period, it should pay them the last drawn salary from November 1, 2014 till accommodated in any vacant or newly created post, it said.
