[Delhi] AAP workers protest non-payment of civic employee salaries

On November 1, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers gathered outside the municipal headquarters near Minto Road, Delhi, to protest against the non-payment of salaries to municipal employees, Hindustan Times reports.

The protesters surrounded the municipal building and symbolically locked its gates.

Vikas Goel - leader of the Opposition in North Delhi Municipal Corporation - alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled municipal corporation had failed to pay current employees their salaries and retired employees their pension for the last three months.

Goel asked, “How will MCD employees celebrate Diwali without salary? When preparations for festivals are going on in everyone’s house, there is not even a grain of ration left in the house of MCD employees. How will employees celebrate Diwali without pay?”

Manoj Tyagi - leader of the Opposition in East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) - said that people employed as cleaners in Delhi are unable to afford to light stoves in their houses. “AAP demands that if the BJP-led MCD is not able to pay salaries to the employees, then the people of the BJP should resign immediately,” he said.

Prem Chauhan - leader of the Opposition in South Delhi Municipal Corporation - said that if the BJP can’t run the municipal corporations and pay municipal employees, it should learn from the AAP.

BJP functionaries in the municipal corporations reportedly blamed the Delhi government for the delay in disbursing salaries. Shyam Sunder Aggarwal - the EDMC mayor - said that the civic body has a pending payment of ₹ 525 crore in tax share allocation. “Salaries for September have been released for sanitation workers on a priority basis but remain pending for Group A, B, and C employees. We never faced delays in payment of our tax share during the Sheila Dikshit government,” he said.

Jogi Ram Jain - standing committee chairman in the north corporation - said that the salaries of all employees and pensions of retired employees have been released until the month of August, while the salary of safai karamcharis (waste collectors and sanitation workers) have been released up to September. 

“The salary and pension for the month of September will be released to all the employees and retired employees very soon,” Jain said. “We are paying salaries to the employees through our own sources. Transfer duty of ₹61 crore for the month of August and ₹84 crore for the month of September for the north corporation are due. If the Aam Aadmi Party releases the due funds of the corporations, then the problem of salaries of employees will be completely resolved.” 

Source: Hindustan Times

(Quotes via original reporting)

On November 1, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers gathered outside the municipal headquarters near Minto Road, Delhi, to protest against the non-payment of salaries to municipal employees, Hindustan Times reports.

The protesters surrounded the municipal building and symbolically locked its gates.

Vikas Goel - leader of the Opposition in North Delhi Municipal Corporation - alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled municipal corporation had failed to pay current employees their salaries and retired employees their pension for the last three months.

Goel asked, “How will MCD employees celebrate Diwali without salary? When preparations for festivals are going on in everyone’s house, there is not even a grain of ration left in the house of MCD employees. How will employees celebrate Diwali without pay?”

Manoj Tyagi - leader of the Opposition in East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) - said that people employed as cleaners in Delhi are unable to afford to light stoves in their houses. “AAP demands that if the BJP-led MCD is not able to pay salaries to the employees, then the people of the BJP should resign immediately,” he said.

Prem Chauhan - leader of the Opposition in South Delhi Municipal Corporation - said that if the BJP can’t run the municipal corporations and pay municipal employees, it should learn from the AAP.

BJP functionaries in the municipal corporations reportedly blamed the Delhi government for the delay in disbursing salaries. Shyam Sunder Aggarwal - the EDMC mayor - said that the civic body has a pending payment of ₹ 525 crore in tax share allocation. “Salaries for September have been released for sanitation workers on a priority basis but remain pending for Group A, B, and C employees. We never faced delays in payment of our tax share during the Sheila Dikshit government,” he said.

Jogi Ram Jain - standing committee chairman in the north corporation - said that the salaries of all employees and pensions of retired employees have been released until the month of August, while the salary of safai karamcharis (waste collectors and sanitation workers) have been released up to September. 

“The salary and pension for the month of September will be released to all the employees and retired employees very soon,” Jain said. “We are paying salaries to the employees through our own sources. Transfer duty of ₹61 crore for the month of August and ₹84 crore for the month of September for the north corporation are due. If the Aam Aadmi Party releases the due funds of the corporations, then the problem of salaries of employees will be completely resolved.” 

Source: Hindustan Times

(Quotes via original reporting)