With the strike by civic staff in east Delhi entering its seventh day on Thursday, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) alleged that sanitation workers were "being compelled" to go on strike as the money given by the Delhi government was being "misused" and was not reaching them.
Hundreds of sanitation workers gathered outside the office of the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) to protest against non-payment of salaries. They raised slogans and scattered garbage on the roads.
General Secretary of the United Front of MCD Employees Rajendra Mewati told IANS that while the salary for the month of November has been credited to the accounts of the sanitation workers, they are still to get salary for December.
"Also, the recurrence of larger issues is the problem. Even if we get salaries now, we are not sure when we will have to come out on the roads again," Mewati said.
"There is need for a permanent solution. We demand that the three municipal corporations -- north, south and east -- should be unified which will solve 80 per cent of the problem," he said.
However, AAP Delhi convenor Dilip Pandey said the only solution to the crisis was to "rectify the financial mis-governance and eradication of corruption from the three municipal corporations".
"Due to mis-governance of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), municipal corporations are known as the most corrupt bodies in Delhi," Pandey told reporters here.
"The money given by the Delhi government is being misused and is not reaching the sanitation workers which is compelling them to go on strike. BJP has converted the national capital into national shame," he added.
Pandey said the Delhi government gave significantly more money to the north and east municipal corporations compared to the previous governments.
"BJP has no answer when asked where the money has gone. Neither the number of employees have increased at municipal corporations nor their salaries increased," he said.
"Then how is it possible that they are not able to pay salaries even after getting significantly more money," he asked.
--IANS
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