DUTA holds march to protest non-payment of salaries to staff of 12 Delhi government-funded colleges

NEW DELHI: Thousands of Delhi University teachers took to streets on Monday to protest non-payment of salaries to the staff of 12 Delhi government-funded colleges of the DU.

Led by Delhi University Teachers' Association (DUTA), the "Adhikar rally" was held from Delhi University's VC office to the Chief Minister's office against the Delhi government's "arbitrary and unreasonable" stance towards the 12 DU colleges.

"For more than a year now, employees have not been paid salaries and pensions on time, as grants have not been released on time for one or the other reason," the DUTA said in a statement.

The DUTA also alleged that the Delhi government has given the charge of the 12 colleges to senior accounts officers (Sr AOs), replacing the principals through an earlier order of the Finance Division.

A delegation of DUTA and Delhi University Principals' Association (DUPA) office bearers also met acting vice chancellor P C Joshi and Dean, colleges Balaram Pani, urging them for action against the February 17 order of the Finance Division.

The acting VC and the dean assured intervention by the university on the matter, the statement said.

The DUTA said protesting teachers, staff and students also raised slogans against the Delhi government's alleged "attempt to bring in conditions of the NEP through a dubious document called the 'Pattern of Assistance' which it (Delhi govt) is autocratically seeks to impose through the Governing Bodies of these colleges".

"These are clearly attempts to divert attention to extraneous issues and to mislead the public from the real issue in its attempt to wriggle out of its responsibility towards these public institutions and push them towards commercialisation," Rajib Ray, president- DUTA, said in the statement.

The DUTA also submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal who did not meet the teachers' representatives, the statement said.

The delegation also urged the university officials to ask the Delhi government to withdraw "Pattern of Assistance" and to inform members of the Governing Bodies of these colleges that it was in violation of the university framework within which these constituent colleges were formed and have functioned.