Unified Delhi municipal corporation to be re-established, employees hope to get pending salaries

NEW DELHI: After a decade of trifurcation, the unified Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) will be re-established in its old form on Sunday, however, with some changes. Preparations were in full swing on Saturday at the civic body headquarters to welcome the new officers. 

With this, employees who have not got their pending salaries, hope that this will finally put an end to their ordeal. The employee’s union are planning to meet the newly-appointed top officers on Sunday, as the headquarters will open briefly to mark the day.  

Formal meetings and integration process will start on Monday. However, the special officer, who will now be the top official will be joining office on Sunday, said officials. 

The Union Home Ministry on Friday appointed 1992-batch IAS officer Ashwini Kumar as the 'Special Officer' and Gyanesh Bharti, as the new commissioner, who was serving as the commissioner of the South civic body so far.

As per the newly amended Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Act, 2022, the special officer will be the top authority of the unified civic body until municipal elections are held and a new House is elected. 

"Both the special officer and the commissioner will be coming to the office on Sunday for a brief time. They will be meeting heads of departments and other members. A list of the total number of departments and employees has been prepared for integration," said a senior civic official.

Meanwhile, the employees' associations have sought time to meet the new heads. "We were told that after the unification is done, we wil start to get our salaries regularly Unpaid for five months, the staffers have been buried in loans," said Ramnivas Solanki, general secretary of the Nagar Nigam Shikshak Sangh.