Delhi High Court today lambasted the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) for "fooling" over 30,600 disabled, widowed and aged persons by not paying any pension to them since March 31, 2013 and asked it to cancel the scheme if they did not have money.
"Why do you make promises? Why do you make fools out of them? You are swindling them," said a bench of justices B D Ahmed and Sanjeev Sachdeva as it asked the EDMC why it had promised to pay the pension if it cannot fulfil the promise.
In response to EDMC's claim that it was facing financial crisis as it was getting the least amount of funds among the three MCDs, the court said "then say you do not have the money and cancel the scheme. You should have the guts to say that."
The bench also said that the municipal body should cancel the scheme before the MCD elections and then see how the people react.
It also noted advocate Ashok Aggarwal's submission that most of these people looked forward to the pension which was their only source of income.
The court also said that it was not just the MCD, but every department "promise people the moon and then give them hell".
It directed all the three MCDs - east, south and north - to take a policy decision on whether they intended to continue with the scheme and inform the court on the next date of hearing on May 13.
It also directed south and north MCDs to file detailed affidavits within two weeks indicating the number of people eligible for the pension in their areas and how much money has been disbursed to them.
The court was hearing a PIL filed by NGO Social Jurist through advocate Ashok Aggarwal claiming that the municipal body had stopped paying the pension under the old-age/widow/ disabled persons pension and stipend scheme of 2008.
