NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Thursday said the financial condition of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) was “precarious” and the administration of the national capital would require a re-look if the civic authority was incapable of handling itself.
A bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Manmohan, which had earlier warned the civic authority of dissolution if it did not make itself financially viable, said citizens cannot continue to live in “misery” due to the MCD’s incompetence.
“You are incompetent to the core. You people are only fighting, have large egos and refusing to see the big picture,” the bench, said, adding, “There must be some inherent problem. The administration of Delhi would require a re-look.”
The court was hearing a batch of petitions concerning non-payment of salaries and pensions by the corporation.
The counsel for the MCD said dues have been paid till the month of February but some more time was required to pay the arrears in terms of the Seventh Pay Commission’s recommendations to all eligible employees.
Even as the MCD lawyers stated that arrears have not been paid to around 50,000 employees and a decision has been taken to set aside a minimum of Rs 15 crore per month for this purpose, the counsel appearing for the petitioner employees said the corporation was not giving retiral benefits to its employees.
The court expressed its displeasure over outstanding arrears to be paid to the employees despite MCD being given opportunities to make the payment and questioned if the civic body was able to undertake any development work.
“Your financial condition is so precarious; what development work are you doing? Are you existing only for paying salaries? You are not able to handle yourself. You are not providing any facilities to the citizens. You are not able to clear it despite the petitions being pending for seven years,” the court remarked.
The counsel for MCD said the issue of payment of aid from the Delhi government was pending before the high court, but the city government claimed there were no pending dues. The court said citizens were denied relief in the “intense fight” and some alternative arrangement to the present system has to be found. “Your budget is not balanced, you can’t pay arrears. The whole city is being mismanaged,” the court said.