List assets and bank balance, we will now start attaching to recover salaries: HC to North MCD

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday warned the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (North MCD) that it will now start attaching its properties if it fails to clear the pending salaries of its employees while directing it to disclose a list of assets and bank balance to the court so that the pending salaries and pensions may be cleared.

This came as the court was hearing the issue on the pending salaries of municipal employees and it was informed on Monday by both the South and East civic bodies that they had respectively cleared all arrears, even as North MCD tried to argue that it had put in efforts to bring the arrears down from 5-month lag to a 1-month lag.

It reminded the MCDs that the court had repeatedly set down the law on the fundamental right to salaries and pensions.

A bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh directed the North MCD's commissioner to file an affidavit by July 4 disclosing movable and non-movable assets owned by the corporation along with their estimated values, bank accounts and the amount held in these accounts as on July 1, 2021. It said it will take it up next on July 8.

"We have already said that the right to receive salaries and pensions constitutes a fundamental right and we have already directed the corporations to ensure timely payment of salaries and pensions of their employees and pensioners," the bench said, adding, "now we are going to attach your assets".

"Give us the list of all your properties and bank accounts. We will now start attaching it and recover the money. We can't keep waiting. Either you retrench them, send them home, take drastic cuts, offload some weight, we don't know," the bench said, terming it as a perennial problem of the North MCD.

The high court was informed by the counsel for North MCD that barring teachers and pensioners, all other employees have been paid their salaries till April this year.

On being asked by the court as to how much more money they require to clear the dues, advocate Divya Prakash Pande, representing North MCD, said with Rs 300 crore they will be able to clear the present dues and employees and pensioners will be paid till date.

But, with this you will be able to clear only arrears, what about the future, the high court asked.

To this, the counsel said they have a road map to clear the salaries and pensions till June but will have to ask the officers about the future plan.

North MCD counsel said they have given a representation to the Lieutenant Governor to merge the finances of the three corporations while they may continue to operate separately as it will help the North MCD to tide over funds which is leading to non-payment of salaries of employees. It has also sought the Centre's help to tide over the funds but no response has been received.