Delhi government Water minister Kapil Mishra claims that the three Corporations have themselves admitted having received 100 per cent of the non plan funds — Rs 892.92 crore for North MCD, Rs.465.53 crore for East MCD and Rs 830 crore for South MCD, under the non-planned head for the current financial year, which will come to an end on March 31.
It is clear that 90 per cent of the non-planned allocation is for payment of salaries, then the basic question is why the MCD employees have not been paid their salaries? The sequence of events indicates towards a massive salary scam in these Corporations.
“Attempts are being made to create an erroneous impression that the non-payment of salaries/arrears is on account of non-devolution of funds by the Delhi government to the three Municipal Corporations,” said Kapil Mishra.
A group of workers and Municipal Corporation employees staged a protest outside Rai’s office in Babarpur in East Delhi and dumped garbage there while another group, under the banner of United Front of MCD Employees, put garbage outside his residence in Civil Lines.
“We demand Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to pay our salary first and later settle scores with the Municipal Corporations,” Sanjay Gehlot, president of Swatantra Mazdoor Vikas Sanyukt Morcha, said.
He said that the protests will be stepped up and workers will hold a demonstration at Delhi Assembly Speaker, Ram Niwas Goel’s residence in Vivek Vihar if their demands were not met. The union leader said the workers blocked the road leading to a traffic jam at Apsara border. The striking workers had on Thursday dumped garbage outside the office and residence of Sisodia. He had later accused BJP leaders of the three Municipal Corporations of “instigating” the workers to throw garbage outside the ministers’ residences and offices.
In North Delhi, the zonal offices at Karol Bagh, Civil Lines and Rohini were locked down by the striking employees and workers. The employees at headquarters of South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) and North Delhi Municipal Corporation (North MCD) at Civic Centre also boycotted work. Demanding regular salaries, payment of long-pending arrears, regularisation of contract-based workers, health cards and unification of three Municipal Corporations, the workers launched the strike on January 27.
Meanwhile, senior doctors, nurses, paramedical staff working under the three Municipal Corporations as well as private hospitals on Friday announced to go on strike in solidarity with the sanitation workers’ agitation in the city from Saturday.
‘Will come up with plan to clear garbage’
With the city facing a garbage problem following the strike by MCD sanitation workers, Delhi government on Friday said it will soon announce a plan for lifting the waste as it asserted that it will not let people in the national Capital live amid piles of rubbish. The Kejriwal-government is likely to announce its plan on Saturday for clearing the litter dumped across the city even as the strike by sanitation workers entered its third day. Sources said that Delhi government is planning to take the help of AAP volunteers to clear the garbage.