After being informed that the Delhi High Court is also taking up the matter of garbage dumping on the streets due to the ongoing sanitation workers’ strike, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) left it to the High Court to resolve the deadlock between the AAP Government and civic bodies on the issue.
A Bench headed by NGT chairperson Swatanter Kumar said, “We are informed that the Delhi High Court is seized of the matter of garbage dumping which shall be taken up on December 2. In the circumstances, let the parties raise their grievance before the High Court.”
“Have you come out with a notification that this strike is illegalIJ Why haven’t you taken the assistance of police if there is any resistance from anyoneIJ” the Bench asked the civic bodies.
During the hearing, the Delhi Government informed the court that it has given all necessary funds to civic bodies for the payment of salaries of sanitation workers while municipal corporations contended that they are running short of funds to clear the dues of their staff. Tarunvir Singh Khehar, the counsel for the Delhi Government, said funds have been already released to civic bodies for payment of salaries and the corporations need to have their own source of income.
Advocate Balendu Shekher, appearing for the civic bodies, contended that while salaries have been paid to the sanitation staff till September, that of senior officers in the category ‘A’ and ‘B’ have not been paid for the last two months.
“We do not have funds or resources to pay the salaries and whatever money the Delhi Government has given is in plan expenditure and only Rs164 crore has been given in non-plan expenditure which was insufficient,” he said.
Shekher submitted that for the East Delhi Municipal Corporation only around Rs125 crore is needed to pay the salaries of all the staff and for this purpose, they have written a letter to the Delhi Government on October 28.
To this, the Delhi Government counsel contended that civic bodies can’t solely depend on the city Government for the funds and they need to realise their arrears of property tax and generate own sources of income.
