Leave granted.
We have heard the learned counsel for the
parties.
The Orissa State Housing Board (hereinafter
referred to as the 'Board') advertised a sealed tender
for construction of 50 High Income Group (Duplex)
houses at Jagmara within the Municipal Corporation of
Bhubaneswar. The contract for the said construction
was granted to Sitaram Lal – the respondent herein. The
stipulated date for completion of the duplex houses was
fixed as 1.2.1991 and the total value of the work was
1.18 crores.
As the respondent could not complete the said
project within the stipulated period, he requested the
Board for some more time for completion of the project.
The Board agreed to give more time to the respondent
for completing the project work on the condition that
the respondent would not claim for the escalated cost
of materials and the labour charges except for the
payment of extra amount which was paid to the labourers
by virtue of the revised wages as per the Minimum
Wages Act and the Government Circular/Guidelines.
The respondent filed a writ petition before the
Orissa High Court with a prayer to declare that he is
entitled to be compensated for the escalated cost of
materials and the labour charges paid to the labourers
by virtue of the revised wages as per the Minimum
Wages Act and the Government Circular/Guidelines.
Learned counsel for the respondent submitted, on
instructions, that he is not pressing for additional
amount towards the escalated cost of materials and his
prayer is now confined only to the revised wages as per
the Minimum Wages Act and the Government
Circular/Guidelines issued by the Government of Orissa.
The prayer seems to us to be reasonable.
Learned counsel for the appellant Board
submitted that the respondent has already been paid the
revised wages as per the Minimum Wages Act and the
Government Circular/Guidelines issued by the State of
Orissa, which is disputed by the learned counsel for
the respondent.
In the facts and circumstances of this case, we
direct that in case the respondent has not been paid
the revised wages as per the Minimum Wages Act and the
Government Circular/guidelines issued by the State of
Orissa, the same would be paid to him within eight
weeks from the date of communication of this order. The
minimum wages shall be paid according to the
supplementary agreement executed by and between the
parties.
The impugned judgments dated 19.7.2007 of the
High Court of Orissa are, accordingly, set aside and
the appeals are disposed of with the aforementioned
direction.