Kejriwal gives 5 months’ salary to Hardayal library staff in Delhi

The chief minister assured the staff of a long-term solution to the salary crisis in the heritage library

Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday met the employees of Hardayal Municipal Heritage Library at his camp office and handed over pending salary checks for five months, even as he slammed the 15-year rule of the Delhi civic body by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the crisis.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kerjriwal with employees of Hardayal Library on Wednesday. (HT Photo)

The chief minister assured the staff of a long-term solution to the salary crisis in the heritage library.

Addressing the library workers, Kejriwal attacked the BJP and alleged that the BJP has tried “to snatch power from the new Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) administration by not allowing the formation of a standing committee”.

“A provision has been made for your salaries for the remaining period and it will also be released soon. Ours is a government of common people and we understand the pain and sufferings of the common people... Earlier there was a dishonest government that ruined the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) over the last 15 years. You must have noticed the difference in the functioning of MCD in the last year even though they have snatched our various powers... They are not allowing a standing committee in MCD. They are posing problems in running MCD and the Delhi government. If there is honest government then there is no shortage of money. The previous government lacked intention,” he said.

However, the Delhi BJP said the AAP government should focus on providing a one-time grant to the library rather than looking at piecemeal solutions.

HT reported on November 15, 2023, how the 161-year-old heritage structure was caught in a political slugfest and had run into a state of complete disarray.

The Hardayal Municipal Heritage Library is an autonomous body that operates with an MCD grant. It has 96 employees with a salary pendency of 35 months, since 2021.

Kejriwal added that the AAP government was “a government of the common people”. “We are not politicians. We also come from the middle class and understand how difficult it is to survive without a salary. Expenses are to be incurred on paying electricity bills, water bills, children’s school fees, and medical treatment. We worked on these issues and in the last 10 years, we have governments in two states (Delhi and Punjab),” he said.

Kejriwal said the BJP attacked the AAP for providing electricity, water, health facilities, and education for free. “The basic needs of a common man are electricity, water, education and treatment... if he gets these then he does not need anything else,” he said.

Meanwhile, AAP MLA and MCD in charge Durgesh Pathak said the employees of the library had suffered a lot. “Not only were they denied salary for over 30 months, but the staff was also humiliated. For a couple of months, the library staff went without electricity due to power disconnection,” he said.

Delhi BJP Spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor has said that the party has always said that the library was in a financial crisis. This can only solved with government-level grants. We welcome the release of five months’ salary for Hardayal Library employees and urge that instead of piecemeal efforts, the Delhi Government should give a one-time grant to the library to totally pay its debts. They should also ensure the proper upkeep of this heritage building and further expand it, said Kapoor.