‘Release funds for retired staff and unpaid MCD employees’ 

NEW DELHI:  Unpaid MCD employees and retired staff have faced the real and maximum pinch during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Delhi High Court Thursday said, asking the civic bodies to attempt to release the arrears as the festival of Diwali is around the corner.

The high court lamented over the sad situation where pensioners have not been paid pensions by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NrDMC) after April and it was not acceptable that the retired staff are completely left high and dry as others are at least paid something.

“At the end of the day, the real pinch is being faced by the employees and their family members who have limited resources available to them and have stretched it to the maximum over the entire period of pandemic with hardly any nest egg left to tide over,’ a bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Subramonium Prasad said.

The bench was hearing various petitions relating to non-payment of salaries of employees and pensioners of different cadres by the three municipal corporations of Delhi -- North, East and South. The list of petitioners includes doctors, nurses, paramedic staff, safai karamcharis, teachers, class-IV employees and retired staff like teachers and engineers.

The bench said; “the civic bodies, particularly NrDMC, shall make an endeavour to take steps to release arrears of salaries of employees and pensions of retired persons at the earliest keeping in mind the festival of Diwali which is round the corner.”