Garbage mess: Green Tribunal slams EDMC for ‘apathy’

The National Green Tribunal on Friday took the East Delhi Municipal Corporation to task for non- disposal of garbage due to staff agitation, asking why it had failed to protect the funds allotted for paying their salaries and making people suffer due to its “ill-planning”.

Slamming the EDMC for its “apathy” towards the garbage mess, it directed the civic body to submit details of its total income along with money given by Delhi government to ascertain the reason for delay in payment of salaries to sanitation workers. The EDMC employees went on strike on January 5 demanding payment of their wages. 

There has been a continuous tussle between civic bodies and state government over funds, which started after the sanitation workers went on strike early last year over the same issue.

“Why don’t you (municipal bodies) apply your mind before doing things? Why didn’t you protect the money allotted to you for payment of salary? Why don’t you apply your common sense that if you don’t pay salaries, your work will get affected? 

“Your problem is that your officers complicate things instead of solving them. You can’t make people suffer because of your ill-planning,” a Bench headed by NGT Chief Justice Swatanter Kumar said. 

While directing EDMC to submit details of planned and non-planned expenditure, the NGT also asked Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and Delhi Pollution Control Committee to apprise it what action they have taken to deal with municipal solid waste in Delhi and whether any action has been taken against the violators. 

“As Corporation you have done nothing. You have not cleaned Delhi. Sewage is flowing in the drains, there is no waste management plan and rivers are being polluted every day.

Why should you have such a large number of employees if they don’t work.

“You tell us, out of the total work force, how many are ghost employees? Have you carried out any study for rationalisation of staff? Tell your officers not to waste energy on fictitious documents and work on ground instead,” the bench said. The green panel said it was “entirely dissatisfied” with the assistance rendered by 

Corporations, Delhi Development Authority, CPCB and other stakeholders as “nobody has provided appropriate help”.