North Corporation demands Rs 600 crore from government for paying staff

NEW DELHI:Unhappy with the government's decision of an advance of Rs 500 crore for East and North municipal corporations, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation on Tuesday demanded that the government should release approximately Rs 600 crore for the corporation alone.

“We need approximately Rs 600 crore to pay the salaries and pension of our staffs till May 31. Arvind Kejriwal should oblige to our demands as we are not borrowing money from him. This is corporation money and it should be regularized immediately ,“ said North Corporation mayor, Ravinder Gupta. “In case the funds are not released soon and if there is an outbreak due to sanitation issue or collapse of any service, the chief minister would be responsible,“ said Gupta.

Meanwhile, garbage is still lying on the east Delhi roads causing trouble for the residents. “The workers are still on strike. We will not step back unless we receive our salaries. We are going to dump garbage outside the deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia's home on Wednesday morning if nothing is finalized,“ said Rajendra Mewati, president of Delhi pradesh safai mazdoor union.

On Tuesday afternoon, the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) called up a meeting with the commissioners to resolve the sanitation issue. They are now waiting for the Delhi government to release the funds.

“Once we receive the fund, we will release the salaries and I am hopeful within a day or two the strike will be called off. Paying our staffs and solving the sanitation issue is our first priority as of now,“ said East Delhi Municipal Corporation mayor, Harsh Malhotra.