Engineers not assigned sanitation work on Kedar route: HC dismisses appeal

Dehradun: Uttarakhand high court (HC) has dismissed an appeal filed by diploma engineers challenging their deployment during the Kedarnath yatra, holding that they were not assigned sanitation work but entrusted with technical responsibilities linked to pilgrim safety.A division bench comprising Chief Justice Manoj Kumar Gupta and Justice Subhash Upadhyay stated that "given the increasing number of pilgrims visiting Kedarnath each year, it is the responsibility of the state govt to ensure their safety and convenience". The govt, the court said, retains the authority to deploy its employees in accordance with administrative requirements and public interest.
The bench upheld an earlier order of a single bench, which had rejected the petition of the Uttarakhand Diploma Engineers Federation.The federation, representing engineers employed in the Public Works Department (PWD) and the irrigation department, had contended that diploma engineers—being technical personnel—were being assigned sanitation duties during the yatra, which they claimed were beyond their scope of work and expertise.However, after examining the matter, the division bench observed that, as per the govt order dated April 5, 2023, the engineers were not assigned sanitation work. Instead, they were tasked with technical responsibilities such as preventing landslides and repairing footpaths along the Yatra route to ensure the safety and smooth movement of pilgrims.The court noted that sanitation-related duties were assigned to Sulabh International, municipal bodies and municipalities. It further observed that the "appellants failed to place any material on record to substantiate their claim that diploma engineers were engaged in sanitation work".Clarifying the position of govt servants, the bench observed that employees are required to perform duties assigned to them as per service exigencies. With these observations, the appeal was dismissed.