New Delhi:
The North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NrDMC) Tuesday requested the Delhi High Court to grant it more time to pay salary and pension arrears, saying it has been delayed due to the surge in COVID-19 cases.
The corporation said it has paid salaries of corona warriors, including doctors, paramedics, nursing staff and sanitation workers, till February 2021, while teachers and pensioners have been paid till January.
The court orally observed, “we had directed NrDMC to clear everything. So tell us what action shall we take.”
A bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli were informed by the counsel for NrDMC that they have filed an application in the court seeking direction to the Delhi government to release its first installment of basic tax assignment (BTA) and other amounts totalling around Rs 250 crore, to enable them to pay salaries.
However, the court noted that the application was not on record and said let it be brought on record and listed the matter for hearing on May 31.
The court also asked the Delhi government to file reply to the NrDMC’s application.
Senior advocate Sandeep Sethi, representing the Delhi government, said the corporation cannot seek advance payment of the amount to pay salaries of employees.
The court was also informed by advocate Manu Chaturvedi, representing the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC), that they have paid salaries and pensions to all employees and retired persons till March and no arrears left.
Advocate Divya Prakash Pande, representing NrDMC and South MCD, said the South Delhi Municipal Corporation has paid salaries and pensions till March.
However, due to the surge in COVID-19 cases, there has been a dip in revenue collection and NrDMC is yet to clear the arrears.
He said Delhi government has directed NrDMC to convert its hospitals into COVID facilities and for that they require more infrastructure and equipments and funds are being used there also.
The high court had earlier dismissed a plea by NrDMC to extend the time for clearing arrears of staff, which expired on April 5, saying getting salaries and pension is a fundamental right of employees or retirees.
The high court had on March 9, directed all the three municipal corporations of Delhi — East, North and South — to positively clear all the arrears of pension and salaries of all the ex-employees and serving staff of all categories on or before April 5.
It had said the commissioners of each MCD shall be personally responsible to ensure compliance of this direction.
The court was hearing a PIL initiated by it based on news reports that doctors of Kasturba Gandhi Hospital have threatened to resign as they have not been paid salaries since March last year.
Besides this, various other petitions relating to non-payment of salaries and pensions to teachers, hospital staff, sanitation workers, engineers are also pending in the court.
