Shivangi Prakash-
Delhi High Court blasted both the Delhi government and the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NrDMC) for failing to pay salaries and pensions to employees/pensioners, saying it was “painful” to watch employees visiting Courts to obtain their income.
The High Court also ordered the Delhi Government to pay the NrDMC Rupees 293 crore within 10 days.
“We are pained to see such people (employees and pensioners) coming to Courts. They need to have a lawyer just to tell us that they are not being paid. You are doing your job but we are pained by the callousness. It’s shocking,” the court told the North Delhi Municipal Corporation.
The Court was hearing several of the complaints about teachers, medical staff, sanitation workers, and engineers not being paid their salaries and pensions.
A Court of judges Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh also ordered the Delhi government to pay the NrDMC ₹293 crores in salary and pensions owing to the civic body for the second and third quarters of the GIA and basic tax assignment within 10 days (BTA).
The Court stated that “corruption is everywhere,” referring to both the corporation and the Delhi government.
“Let’s agree that people are sitting in a cosy environment. Your government is no better. Not just the corporate, there is corruption everywhere. We would want officers to act with responsibility. Tell us the money that you are incurring on advertisements,” the Court told the Delhi government.
Senior attorney Rahul Mehra, representing the Delhi government, stated that it was not the government’s responsibility to ensure that civic employees were paid their pay. He stated that newspaper advertisements are used to convey vital and significant information.
To this, the Court said, “Advertisements with a political push do not indicate meaningful advertisement. When you say that you are short of funds to give to the corporation, you are also not behaving prudently or responsibly.”
The bench also slammed the NrDMC for insisting on running its six hospitals despite lacking the necessary finances.
Judge also ordered the SDMC and EDMC, who were represented by counsel Manu Chaturvedi, to take identical efforts to supplement their resources as the NrDMC and provide affidavits describing their actions.
