Fulfilled promise to regularise Delhi civic sanitation staff: Kejriwal

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal is misleading the sanitation workers

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has fulfilled a key promise by regularising 5,000 sanitation workers in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). The CM’s remarks come a day after the civic body approved the regularisation of jobs in its House meeting on Tuesday.

Speaking at a press conference, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said that the AAP-led MCD has so far made jobs of 6,494 sanitation workers permanent, besides ensuring timely release of salaries. (HT Photo)

Speaking at a press conference, Kejriwal said that the AAP-led MCD has so far made jobs of 6,494 sanitation workers permanent, besides ensuring timely release of salaries. This is part of the government’s measures to gradually end the contractual employment system in the sanitation department, he said.

On the same issue, Kejriwal hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for allegedly not fulfilling the demands of workers and delaying the release of salaries. “The BJP during its 15-year tenure in the MCD had only exploited the sanitation workers but our government has given them their rights. During their tenure, there were reports of corruption and employees not receiving their salaries for many months but now everyone is receiving their salaries on time, and sanitation workers are also being made permanent,” he said.

“Whenever we get an opportunity in any government, we will regularise employees and gradually end the non-permanent sanitation employment system,” Kejriwal added.

The AAP won the civic polls held in December last year, ending the BJP’s 15-year tenure in the Capital’s local bodies.

In response, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said Kejriwal is misleading the sanitation workers. “The resolution passed in yesterday’s House is based on a resolution no. 212 dated 13.12.2014 which approved creation of 5,000 posts of regular swatchta karamcharis by the erstwhile BJP-ruled East MCD,” he said.