HC summons MCD commissioner, govt officials over delayed salaries to civic staff

The Delhi high court on Monday ordered the commissioner of Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and senior government officials to appear in court on February 2 and explain the failure to disburse salaries and pensions to the employees of the civic body, which they termed “unfortunate”.

A bench comprising chief justice Satish Chandra Sharma and justice Subramonium Prasad, while hearing a bunch of pleas by civic body employees seeking release of their wages, noted that the salaries were not paid despite authorities’ assurances to the court.

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“It is unfortunate that Class III and Class IV employees, teachers and other employees of MCD are not paid salaries despite an assurance given by the authorities to this court. It is also unfortunate that even pensioners are not getting their pensions and are left hand to mouth,” the bench said.

They said they were left with no other option but to call for the personal appearance of the commissioner of MCD and the finance secretary and urban development secretary of the Delhi government on February 2.

Advocate Ashok Agarwal, representing petitioner teachers, said that they have not been paid for two to three months and the inaction on the corporation’s part is in violation of their fundamental right to livelihood.

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The high court noted in its order that on December 12, the counsel for Delhi government and the MCD had jointly stated that all payments would be released expeditiously.

In 2020, the court had initiated a PIL based on news reports that doctors of Kasturba Gandhi Hospital had threatened to resign as they had not been paid salaries. Besides this, various other petitions relating to non-payment of salaries and pensions to teachers, hospital staff, sanitation workers, engineers are also pending in the court.