The issue of termination of civil defence volunteers services has become a fresh point of controversy between the Raj Niwas and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
A day after the Directorate of Civil Defence issued an order ending the services of 10,000 civil defence volunteers with immediate effect, Kejriwal has directed his Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot that Home Guards are to be deployed as Bus Marshals and initiate proceedings and actions against Principal Secretary-cum-Commissioner Transport, Ashish Kundra and Principal Secretary (Finance) Ashish Verma who caused the delay in payment to bus marshals.
The CM directed to release all payment to bus marshal by Diwali. Amid a tussle between the LG office and the Delhi government, hundreds of civil defence volunteers are currently on an indefinite sit-in at the Delhi Secretariat, demanding the payment of their pending wages.
“Till the engagement and deployment of Home Guards as bus marshals is done, the current bus marshals are to be continued so that women's safety is not compromised”, Kejriwal said in a note to Gahlot. “The LG has not invoked the proviso to Article 239AA (4) of the Constitution and has not referred the matter to the President. Therefore, the decisions of the Transport Minister attain finality. Transport Minister may initiate the process of suspension of and disciplinary action against Ashish Kundra (Pr. Secy. -cum- Commissioner Transport) and Ashish Verma (Pr Secretary Finance) who have caused the delay in payment to bus marshals, as per extant statutory provisions”.
“With regard to the bus marshals, all pending payments to bus marshals to be released immediately not later than Diwali, home guards to be deployed as bus marshals expeditiously, there should be no reduction in the number of bus marshals and till the engagement and deployment of home guards as bus marshals, the current bus marshals are to be continued so that the safety and security of women is not compromised,” he said.
Earlier, the Directorate of Civil Defence said civil defence volunteers are to be called on duty only for dealing with "disaster management and hostile attack" and issued order ending the service of CDVs with immediate effect. “Director Civil Defence/ Divisional Commissioner is pleased to end the call out duty of all the members of Civil Defence Corps (Civil Defence Volunteers) deployed in any department/office with effect from 31' October, 2023,” read the order.
“It has been observed that the Civil Defence Volunteers have been called for duties in various departments of GNCTD which is contrary to the provisions of the Civil Defence Act, 1968 and the rules & regulations made thereunder; And whereas, it has been noted that the aforesaid call out was also not done in fair and transparent manner by following the due process; And whereas, it has been decided that the aforesaid call out of Civil Defence Volunteers needs to be ended with immediate effect,” the order said.
Last month, Raj Niwas officials, had stated it was the L-G who, while approving the CM’s proposal to terminate the services of all existing civil defence volunteers, raised concerns about the loss of livelihood and directed the CM that those who lose their jobs in the process be considered for appointment as home guards. The L-G recently approved the appointment of about 10,000 home guards. He has also flagged issues of pending salaries of civil defence volunteers, the Raj Niwas officials added.
In a related development, the Delhi Congress on Wednesday joined the protest of DTC marshals outside Delhi Secretariat, demanding pending wages and regularisation of their services. Several Congress leaders and workers led by party's state unit president Arvinder Singh Lovely gathered outside the secretariat at ITO here and extended support to the bus marshals. The DTC and Cluster Bus marshals have been agitating for a long time for their wages and regularisation of their jobs, but their pleas have fallen on deaf ears. Addressing the bus marshals, Lovely said that Congress will strive to find a solution to the demands of the marshals for the regularisation of their jobs and getting back wages.
The Congress leader appealed to the BJP and the AAP to join hands with the Congress to find a satisfactory solution to the problems of the marshals. Other leaders who were present at the protest were former Congress MLAs Mukesh Sharma and Hari Shanker Gupta.