Don’t deprive employees of joy of Diwali due to COVID-19: Delhi HC to civic body

NEW DELHI: Diwali is round the corner and no employee should be deprived of the joy of festivity, the Delhi High Court observed on Tuesday while asking the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (North MCD) to disburse pending salaries of 9,000 teachers engaged by the civic body.

The HC was informed by the MCD counsel that on September 8, the civic body has released salaries of June to its teachers. The court was also informed by the Delhi government’s advocate that it has released Rs 98.35 crore to NrDMC on September 3 and the amount will cover the salaries of teachers for September and October. 

“Don’t forget the festival of Diwali is around the corner. We will not allow you (NrDMC) to deprive any employee of that little joy of festivity,” a bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Subramonium Prasad said. The court also asked the civic agency to disburse the salaries of teachers for the pending months. 

The NrDMC counsel said they will seek instructions as to whether the civic body has received the amount from the Delhi government and that they are working on releasing the salaries. The court asked the civic body to file a status report in this regard and listed the matter for further hearing on November 5.

The bench was hearing a suo motu PIL initiated by the high court with regard to the disbursement of unpaid salaries of teachers employed in schools run by the NrDMC. 

The high court had initiated the PIL in June after hearing the petition filed by the counsel of North Delhi Municipal Corporation teachers, seeking direction to the authorities to pay salaries which were due since March.

The court was earlier informed by the NrDMC that it had paid salaries to all its teachers engaged till March and 5,406 teachers, put on Covid duty, have been given their dues for April. 

The NrDMC had blamed the Delhi government for not releasing Grant- In-Aid to the civic body.