Short Note : 1. The only contention urged before us by the learned counsel for the petitioners is that the integration of services was complete after publication of the final gradation lists in 1963 and 1964 (Annexures VII and VIII), that thereafter the Central Government had no jurisdiction to intervene in the preparation of the gradation list under section 115 (5) of the Act and that the State Government should have prepared a gradation list of all the Deputy Collectors in accordance with the order of the High Court dated 29th August 1970 in Misc. Petition No. 467 of 1968, taking the lists Annexures VI and VIII as final and without reference to the Central Government. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that on publication of the final lists Annexures VII and VIII the powers of the Central Government under section 115 (5) came to an end and it became functus offico. No. further reference, therefore, could be made to the Central Government on the representations of the officers or otherwise in the matter of preparation of the gradation list as ordered by the High Court in Misc. Petition No. 467 of 1968. Held : The relevant statutory provisions are contained in sections 115 (5) and 117 of the States Re-organisation Act. 2. Those statutory provisions bearing upon the integration of services consequent upon the re-organisation of State, have come up for consideration before the Supreme Court in a number of cases: [See Union of India v. P.K. Roy, AIR 1968 SC 850 ; Union of India v. S.R. Dhareshwar, AIR 1971 SC 1753 ; N. Subba Rao v. Union of India, AIR 1973 SC 69 ; Union of India v. O.R. Prabhavalkar, AIR 1973 SC 2102 ; D. Rajiah v. Union of India, AIR 1974 SC 457 ; Union of India v. R.D. Nanjiah, AIR 1977 SC 161 ]. Generally speaking, the work of integration requires formulation of principles on which the work has to be carried out, the preparation of preliminary gradation list in accordance with the principles so formulated, the publication of the list inviting representations from the persons affected, the consideration of representations and the preparation and publication of the final gradation list in the light of the decisions on the representations. The duty to integrate the services of the units forming a new State is on the Central Government. The duty to integrate the services of the units forming a new State is on the Central Government. It is for the Central Government to lay down the principles of integration. But the Central Government can leave the preliminary work of the preparation of gradation list on the State Government and can also constitute Advisory Committees for assisting itself. The final decision, however, in the matter of integration must be of the Central Government and the final gradation list must be in accordance with its decision. The process of integration can be taken to be complete only when a common gradation list containing the list of the concerned officers is published after the Central Government has disposed of the representations made by the officers. The object of integration and the preparation of a common gradation list is to inform the officers as to in what category they have been placed in the new State and as to what is their placement in the unified seniority list. The preparation of a common gradation list is the sine qua non for completing the integration. Until a common gradation list is finalised, it cannot be said that the process of integration is over. AIR 1968 SC 850 , AIR 1971 SC 1753 , AIR 1973 SC 69 , AIR 1973 SC 2102 , AIR 1974 SC 457 and AIR 1977 SC 161 , relied on. Petition dismissed.