East Delhi MCD sanitation workers strike ends; to get salary within 2 days

New Delhi, June 12: The strike by sanitation workers in Delhi was called off on Friday, a union leader said.

The decision to call off the stir was taken after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government released Rs.513 crores to pay the salaries of the municipal corporation employees.

Earlier in the day, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi met Delhi municipal corporation sanitation workers who are agitating against non-payment of salaries for the past three months and extended his support to their cause.

Meanwhile, Delhi Lt Governor Najeeb Jung ordered the release of Rs 493 crore to the municipal corporations in the national capital to facilitate payment of salaries to sanitation workers who have not been paid for the past two months.

Jung earlier met the mayors and commissioners of the three municipal corporations in Delhi and appealed to them to convince the sanitation workers to end their ongoing agitation.

Delhi High Court also directed the city government to ensure immediate release of funds to East Delhi Municipal Corporation to pay dues to employees for May and observed it should "call an emergency session" of Assembly as it was a "serious" issue.

Employees of Delhi's municipal corporations have struck work to protest against the non-payment of salaries for April and May.

As a result, non-collection of garbage has led to unhygienic conditions with garbage strewn across roads, especially in east Delhi.

The workers from East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) have in the past strewn garbage in Mayur Vihar and Patparganj areas to protest over non-payment of salaries.

Garbage piled up at dumps and overflowing onto the roads has caused inconvenience to residents and commuters alike.

The EDMC has failed to pay salaries to its around 11,000 sanitation workers due to what it calls a financial crunch.

On June 9, the Arvind Kejriwal government in Delhi released Rs.500 crore to clear the salary arrears of municipal corporation employees.

Sanitation workers from East and North municipal corporations have been on strike to protest the non-payment of salaries.

BJP wants Delhi to turn into heap of garbage: AAP

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led municipal corporations of attempting to convert Delhi into a heap of garbage and being on top among the list of corrupt organisations.

The BJP-led MCDs have converted Delhi into "a heap of garbage and it must pay the price for this criminal negligence", said AAP leader Sanjay Singh at a press conference here.

"Petitions filed by RTI activists show the Municipal Corporation of Delhi has topped the corruption chart. Even as the prime minister flagged off the Swachch Bharat Mission across the country, it was unfortunate that nothing has been done to improve the health of the sanitation department and the workers under it," Singh added.

AAP leader Dilip Pandey demanded a probe into the role of BJP in the issue, alleging that the funds meant for workers' salaries were used for other purposes.

Pointing out that union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had allocated a sum of Rs. 2,000 crore for the MCD, the AAP alleged that not even a single rupee reached the beneficiaries.

OneIndia News

(With agency inputs)