NDMC order in works before Delhi govt’s letter: Centre

The official said NDMC sent a reminder to the home ministry on November 23 last year to expedite the matter, and the file was cleared by home secretary AK Bhalla and Shah on February 4 this year

A day after a gazette notification was issued for the regularisation of 4,500 contractual workers of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), officials in the Union government suggested that the Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi “tried to take credit” for a decision that was already in the works. According to a senior official, Union home minister Amit Shah approved the file regarding the regularisation on February 4 this year, two days before Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal wrote to him urging that the temporary employees be given permanent status.

According to a senior official, Union home minister Amit Shah approved the file regarding the regularisation on February 4 this year, two days before chief minister Arvind Kejriwal wrote to him. (HT Photo)

“Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal sent a letter demanding the regularisation of these workers on February 6, and when the approval of MHA was received by the NDMC two days later (February 8), he promptly wrote a letter thanking the home minister,” the government official said, asking not to be named.

The official added that NDMC sent a reminder to the home ministry on November 23 last year to expedite the matter, and the file was cleared by home secretary AK Bhalla and Shah on February 4 this year. The approval from MHA was sent on February 6, received by NDMC on February 8, and the notification was issued on February 13, he said.

In a statement issued on February 10, the Delhi government asserted that the ministry of home affairs approved the process for regularisation of 4,500 NDMC contractual employees due to “personal efforts” of the chief minister. The Delhi government added that Kejriwal had met former home minister Rajnath Singh and Shah over the issue, and written multiple letters to push the decision through.

NDMC vice-chairman and former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president Satish Upadhyay said it is a “matter of regret” that when chief minister Arvind Kejriwal “came to know that NDMC was about to complete the regularisation work of its RMR employees, he wrote a letter to Shah to try to take credit”.

“This is the third term of CM Arvind Kejriwal, but he never raised this issue before and today when this work is being done, the politics of snatching credit is being done through correspondence,” he added.

The Delhi government spokesperson refused to comment on the matter on Tuesday, but said the government had already issued a statement on the development on February 10.

The matter pertains to the approval of the recruitment rules for Group ‘C’ employees in NDMC to enable the regularisation of contractual RMR (regular muster roll) workers. These RMR workers mostly comprise field staff, such as gardeners and sanitation workers, who have been working with the council for over two decades. The matter has been hanging fire since 2018. In September 2020, the council approved the amendment in the recruitment rules and a revised proposal was submitted to the home ministry in April 2021.