Fumed over non-payment of salaries, the <g data-gr-id="39">safai</g> <g data-gr-id="40">karmis</g> (sanitation workers) of East and North Delhi Municipal Corporation have turned the entire Capital into a huge a garbage dump. The Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal assured that Delhi government will release funds to MCD for <g data-gr-id="38">dispensation</g> of salaries to sanitation workers by the end of the month, but the delay has led to employees continuing the strike. “We will continue to hold the strike as our due salaries have not been dispensed. Moreover, no assurances have been made regarding <g data-gr-id="36">immediate</g> release of salaries,” said Rajendra Mewati, president of the Delhi Pradesh Safai Mazdoor Union.
The <g data-gr-id="30">safai</g> <g data-gr-id="31">karmis</g> emptied garbage trucks onto the streets in Laxmi Nagar, Trilokpuri, Karkardooma, Nirman Vihar, Vikas Marg and NH-24. Roads were blocked and traffic halted for long hours that led to massive congestions across the city. The garbage dumped on streets, raising a stink, has made it nearly impossible for the pedestrians as well as the traffic to move.
Standing Committee Chairman of North MCD Mohan Bhardwaj said Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal politicized the issue of fund release in a so-called dialogue with the employees and <g data-gr-id="26">safai</g> <g data-gr-id="27">karmis</g> of the Corporation.
“Chief Minister misled the people of Delhi by saying that the Corporation used the funds for salaries of <g data-gr-id="23">safai</g> <g data-gr-id="24">karmis</g> for other purposes. Facts can be verified from the budget pages.
“He said budget is passed twice for the year, first as estimates then in the fiscal year in the month of February as revised budget estimates as per the actual requirement after proper deliberations in the house in consultation with departments,” he added.
The Corporation, in reality, is facing difficulty in disbursing salaries to its employees because of non-release of its due funds by the Delhi government along with the inherited monetary loss at the time of <g data-gr-id="22">tri-furcation</g>.