Money paid to MCDs being diverted to councillors’ fund, alleges AAP

Pathak said on January 14, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and urban development minister Satyender Jain had announced that the Delhi government will release ₹938 crore for payment of salaries of MCD employees.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled municipal corporations (MCDs) in the national capital are diverting the money disbursed by the Delhi government to augment the councillor local area development (LAD) fund, instead of paying the pending salaries of employees.

Garbage piled up at Idgah Road near Sadar Bazar as MCD workers are on strike over non-payment of their salaries, in New Delhi. (Arvind Yadav/ Hindustan Times)

Addressing a press conference, senior AAP leader and MCD in-charge Durgesh Pathak said Delhi is suffering from a “massive garbage issue” as sanitation workers are on strike over salary dues.

“The areas under the BJP-ruled north MCD are the worst affected and the situation has remained bad for the past 15-20 days. Sanitation workers of the municipal bodies are on strike for the past several days because the municipalities have not paid them salaries for the past five to six months,” he said.

Pathak said on January 14, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and urban development minister Satyender Jain had announced that the Delhi government will release ₹938 crore for payment of salaries of MCD employees.

“But the BJP has not paid the salaries of their employees till now. Instead, they have increased the councillor LAD fund. The BJP has decided to provide ₹1 crore to each councillor,” he said.

Presenting the SDMC’s budget on December 7, 2020, additional commissioner Ramesh Verma had proposed reducing the LAD fund from ₹1 crore to ₹50 lakh. But on January 19, standing committee chairperson of SDMC, Rajdutt Gahlot rejected the proposal.

Jai Prakash, mayor North Delhi Municipal Corporation, said, “The AAP is misguiding people by making baseless allegations. There is no proposal for increasing councillor’s fund to ₹1.5 crore. The civic body has not yet received any money as promised by the government in the name of salary fund. The only money we got is a fraction of third quarter dues which the government anyway has to give us,” he added.