New Delhi, Oct 13 (PTI) The Delhi High Court today askedthe AAP government to release within three days the arrears ofsanitation workers of the East Delhi Municipal Corporation(EDMC), who are on indefinite strike since Wednesday.
A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice CHari Shankar issued notice to the Centre, Delhi government andthe EDMC on a plea which has also sought a direction to theauthorities to ensure that the workers call off their strike,which started on October 11, and resume work.
The court, however, did not give any specific directionon the issue but sought a status report from the authoritiesconcerned.
It said the authorities should release the arrears inthree days from today, after it was told that inspite ofassurances given by the government, their outstanding paymenthas not been made since 2003.
The court was hearing a plea by Rahul Birla, who soughta direction to the government and the EDMC to make immediatepayment of the arrears.
Advocate Niraj Gupta, appearing for petitioner, urged thecourt to direct the EDMC to issue medical cashless cards toits sanitation workers.
The plea also sought direction to the authorities toimmediately implement the recommendations of the 4th FinanceCommission.
The plea said earlier too, the workers of all three MCDshad gone on strike in January 2015, October 2015 and January2016, which had worsened the sanitary conditions in thecapital creating an imminent risk of outbreak of diseases.
It said the strike had resulted in accumulation ofgarbage for a number of days at different places, with stinkemanating from garbage dumps, making the lives of the peoplepathetic and miserable.
Scores of the EDMC sanitation workers, who are demandingpayment of salaries due to them, clearance of arrears andmedical cashless card, went on strike on October 11.
The EDMC, one of the three civic bodies created in 2012after the trifurcation of the erstwhile unified MunicipalCorporation of Delhi (MCD), has been cash-strapped for a longtime now. PTI PPS SKV HMPARC.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.