Municipal corporation of Delhi to regularise 16,000 safai karamcharis

Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta said that the municipal corporations have decided to regularise 16,346 safai karamcharis and that a programme will be organised to hand over their appointment letters. The move comes ahead of the civic body elections slated for April.

There are around 32,000 sanitation workers employed by the North MCD, of which 17,000 are permanent. The East has around 14,000 workers, of which half are permanent, while the South has 12,000 permanent and 8,500 temporary workers.

Gupta said sanitation workers play a very important role in keeping Delhi clean and the party has always cared for their interest and well-being: “All three corporations have already started the exercise of regularising these workers.”

So far, the north corporation has regularised 975 safai karamcharis while another 6,646 are to be regularised soon. Similarly, the SDMC has regularised 400 such employees while another 1,489 are in the process of being regularised. In the East MCD, 5,136 workers have been regularised and another 1,700 will be made permanent workers soon.

However, Delhi Safai Karamchari Ayog chairperson Sanjay Gehlot called it a political stunt as the corporations do not have enough finances to do this. “On the one hand, they say that they do not have money, then how would they meet the increased expenses? This has been done just to appease sanitation workers with an eye on elections,” he said.

Delhi Pradesh Valmiki Mazdoor Sangh president Sunil Neta, who is a sanitation worker under the South MCD, too said such promises are made before elections but are never fulfilled: “We will believe this when we are given the benefits instead of just promises.”

Gupta, however, said the BJP has always stood with safai workers and will accomplish that.

Salaries for regularised or permanent workers start from Rs 40,000, which increases as per the years of service. A temporary worker, on the other hand, is paid around Rs 16,000 per day. Permanent workers are also entitled to other benefits like gratuity, bonus, leave and medical facilities. These aren’t available to temporary workers.