Pay salaries, pension to employees or we will wind up MCD: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court on Friday expressed strong displeasure over the failure of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to pay salaries, pensions and arrears of its former and serving employees..A Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora remarked that these are basic wages of the employees and if the MCD is failing to do so, the Court may consider ordering the winding up of the municipal corporation.“This matter is dragging on for four years. We are waiting for one good day when you will augment your finances. We are giving you the last opportunity. You fix your house. Put it in order. Otherwise, we will say this is a fit case where municipalities need to be winded up,” the Court remarked.In its order, the bench made it clear that the liability to pay wages, pensions and arrears as per the seventh pay commission is a statutory obligation and if the MCD is not in a position to do that, consequences will follow.“This court has made it clear that it is not going to wait for MCD to find ways and means to augment its resources. The liability to pay wages as per the seventh pay commission is a statutory obligation. If the MCD is not in a position to pay the basic wages then consequences will follow,” the Court said..Following this stern rebuke, MCD Standing Counsel Divya Prakash Pande gave an undertaking to the Court that the salaries and pensions of the employees will be released in 10 days.Pande stated that he will take instructions on the issue of arrears.He clarified that the MCD has been taking steps to clear the dues and at one point the total money to be paid in arrears stood at nearly ₹1,000 crore which has now come down to ₹400 crore.“We will come up with positive instructions and inform when we will clear it,” he added..The Court recorded the submissions and adjourned the matter.“Please tell your commissioner that we will be taking very strict action. We are not going to get lost and we will not wait for four years. The matter will come to an end in four weeks,” the bench said finally..It was hearing nearly half a dozen petitions concerned with non-payment of salaries, pensions and arrears of the MCD employees on time as per the recommendation of the seventh pay commission.Advocate Satyakam appeared for the Delhi government and told the Court that on January 24, the Delhi government had sanctioned the ₹803 crore for the MCD and the amount has been credited to the municipal corporations’ account.