To clear pending salaries of Hardayal Library’s staff, Mayor may propose formation of special mgmt panel

 The Mayor of Delhi, Shelly Oberoi is expected to present a proposal to form a special Management Committee of 11 people to ensure all pending salaries of the employees of Hardayal Municipal Heritage Public Library are cleared within the next month, as part of her agenda for the upcoming House Meeting on Thursday.

The library, founded in 1862, has long since been a part of the city’s heritage, and in 1942, in an agreement with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), it was given an autonomous status with a 100 per cent grant-in-aid from the Corporation.

The grant has been pending for three years, and the employees have not been paid their salary for 29 months, going on to 30, said Md. Rafi, a staff at the Hardayal Municipal Heritage Public Library, he added that they have visited the Corporation multiple times.

He also mentioned, “I have to take a loan against 10-11 per cent interest to manage my household. Two of our staff members are in hospital. One of our colleagues has dengue, and we have no way to pay these bills. Even our lights got cut, and with no funding, we collected money from the members to get electricity. Our Secretary got multiple facilities made, like the computer lab, from CSR Funds but none of us have been paid for more than two years. All we ask is for some interim aid until they can clear our salaries.”

The Mayor and MCD inspected the library during these years, and the employees were called thrice for verification, where they presented their joining letters, audits and other documents. Post this, the current 96 employees had been promised that they would receive their salaries within 15 days four months ago but the amount has still not been transferred.

Sources from the MCD clarified to the Millennium Post that the salary has been pending because of the initial misuse of funds. After verification,

when the Corporation attempted to transfer it to the Library, they faced technical issues which persisted when they tried to pay the employees individually later.

Only 19 employees work in the library, while the rest are on strike to demand their due payments. These delays have sown mistrust within the employees, who remain sceptical of the success of the proposal expected to be presented in the House Meeting on Thursday.