Municipal strike: SC tells AAP govt to release funds

NEW DELHI: Amid fears of outbreak of mosquito-borne diseases like dengue and chikungunya, the Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Delhi government to consider immediate release of funds to municipal bodies so that they could pay salaries to workers who have been on an indefinite strike since September 12.

A bench of Justices Madan B Lokur, S Abdul Nazeer and Deepak Gupta said the chief minister and the lieutenant governor were at fault for not resolving who, the Centre or the state government, should give funds to municipal bodies for payment of salaries. The matter has been hanging for the last one year. The court said residents of Delhi and workers of municipal bodies should not suffer due to the power tussle.

Senior advocate Anand Grover, appearing for Delhi government, told the bench that it had disbursed the amount given by the Centre and it was not responsible for the strike. His contention was opposed by senior advocate Sanjiv Sen who submitted on behalf of South Delhi Municipal Corporation that no payment was made by the state government since April under planned expenditure and 20,000 workers had gone on strike.

Sen urged the court that the state government should be directed to release Rs 1,000 crore earmarked under planned expenditure to the municipal bodies.

After a brief hearing, the bench told the Delhi government, “You may be right or may be wrong. But there is a problem faced not only by the workers of municipal corporations but also by citizens. Some ad-hoc amount should be released by you but it will not prejudice your rights. If we come to the conclusion that the money was to be paid by the Centre, then the amount will be refunded to you.”

Grover said he would take instructions from the government and brief the court on Friday.

East Delhi colonies are battling a sanitation nightmare after safai karamcharis went on an indefinite strike demanding timely payment of salaries and disbursal of claims like medical allowance. East Delhi Municipal Corporation, which has been facing a financial crisis, has requested the Delhi government to clear the arrears under the Delhi Fourth Finance Commission recommendations. The corporation said it was unable to pay its employees because Delhi government had not yet released funds.