Planning to visit the municipal office any time soon for a birth certificate, trade or health licence or to get a building plan sanctioned? You will most likely be disappointed as over 1.5 lakh employees of the three MCDs have decided to go on strike for non-payment of salaries.

This may lead to an unprecedented breakdown of civic services in the Capital as employees, including those from sanitation, health, education, engineering and other departments, have threatened to go on strike from February if their salaries are not paid immediately. As a token of protest, they will be on a three-day strike from Wednesday. If their demand still remains unfulfilled, they would go on indefinite strike.

Even senior officers like directors, deputy directors and assistant commissioners have not been paid their salaries since October last year. Some Group C and D employees have recently been paid their salaries but senior officers are yet to get paid.

Notwithstanding the monetary dispute between the Delhi government and the BJPruled MCDs, employees have decided to protest at Jantar Mantar, outside Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence and the Civic Centre, the headquarters of the North and the South Delhi Municipal Corporations.

MCD officials said as a result of the protest, services that the MCDs provide will be hampered. "MCD employees will protest against the non-payment of salaries which are due for months and is resulting in immense financial burden for them. The Capital will suffer for at least three-four days from Wednesday," said Rajender Mewati, general secretary of the United Front of MCD Employees Associations.

Employees from sanitation, health, education, engineering and other departments have threatened to go on an indefinite strike from February if their salaries are not paid immediately. Even senior officers like directors, deputy directors and assistant commissioners have not been paid their salaries since October last year. Some Group C and D employees have recently been paid their salaries but senior officers are yet to get the same. The employees of the municipal corporations have decided to protest at Jantar Mantar, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence and Civic Centre, the headquarters of the North and the South Delhi Municipal Corporations. MCD officials said the protest would certainly come at a cost of the services being provided by the agencies. Officials expressed helplessness saying the Capital will be buried in heaps of garbage as sanitation workers and supervision staff will be on strike for three days. Delhi generates approximately 9,000 metric tonnes of waste every day.

Officials expressed helplessness saying the Capital will be buried under heaps of garbage as sanitation workers and supervision staff will be on strike. Delhi generates approximately 9,000 metric tonnes of waste every day. There are over one lakh sanitation workers waiting for salaries. While the issue of sanitation workers being unpaid is pending since long, employees of other departments too have been hit by the fund crunch.

The employees' union said they would also demand the unification of the three municipal corporations as they feel it is the only way to cut short expenses of the civic bodies. Notably, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation has also proposed unification of the three civic agencies. On the other hand, the Delhi government has set up a team to audit the accounts of the MCDs before extending any monetary aid. The Aam Aadmi Party has also been alleging financial bungling by the BJP-ruled MCDs.

AP Khan, general secretary of the Forum of MCD Engineers, said, "The state government are resorting to blame game and have ignored the interest of the employees. No engineer in the three corporations has been given salary since November. It has been a year since the issue has been dragging on. While some employees have received salaries for October, there are some who have still not been paid their salaries."

Another senior official from north corporation said 50 per cent of the staff of north and east corporations have not received their salaries. The salary expenditure of north corporation is Rs 220 crore per month while it is Rs 80 crore for the east corporation.

MCD claims to have undertaken several measures that include meeting the chief minister and President Pranab Mukherjee to come out of this crisis. It has even proposed to sell off its properties to pay the staff. BJP leaders, who run the MCDs, however said Kejriwal has made it a political issue and wants to make it a ground to contest MCD polls in 2017.

Ravinder Gupta, Mayor, North Delhi Municipal Corporation said: "The Delhi government has made the issue of releasing funds political so that it could give a ground impression that the BJP-led municipal corporation did not work for citizens and use it to garner votes for the MCD polls. He (Kejriwal) has not only violated the Constitution but also disobeyed the Delhi HC order."

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