MCG official-mayor tiff: Protest called off for five days

Muncipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) employees suspended their protest against the suspension of a superintending engineer (SE) on Friday after the municipal commissioner Mukesh Kumar Ahuja agreed to look into their demand to reinstate him

Muncipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) employees suspended their protest against the suspension of a superintending engineer (SE) on Friday after the municipal commissioner Mukesh Kumar Ahuja agreed to look into their demand to reinstate him.

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Ahuja, along with senior MCG officials, had at least three rounds of talks with the protesting workers, officials, and their unions throughout Friday.

Officials said Ahuja asked the protesters to give him time till Wednesday evening to resolve the issue following which they agreed to put off their strike till 5pm September 15.

On Wednesday, the SE, Ramesh Sharma, was suspended under orders from the Haryana urban local body minister Anil Vij after mayor Madhu Azad told him off the tiff she had with Sharma on Monday. Sharma, who was divested of his charge soon after the incident, had claimed that he was targeted for refusing favours to Azad who denied the allegation. The MCG employees then called a protest, the first in the civic body’s history.

“In the first two rounds of meetings, the MCG commissioner asked the protesting employees to return to service and ensure that the public is not inconvenienced. However, the employees agreed to do so only if the SE is reinstated,” said a senior MCG official who was present in all three meetings but did not wish to be named.

The official quoted above said that in the third meeting the MCG commissioner asked them for 10 days’ time to resolve the matter. Both sides then agreed to a five-day truce.

Earlier in the day, at least 300-400 MCG employees belonging to several departments gathered at a garden near the entrance to the MCG office in Sector 34 office and began their protest.

“The responsibility of the MCG is to provide facilities to the common person, and it should be our endeavour that the citizens do not face any kind of inconvenience. Everyone should work together like a family,” said Ahuja speaking at the protest site in the morning in an attempt to discourage the protest.

“The unions’ representatives and councillors were told to give their versions in writing that will be sent to the government. We are working towards resolving all matters raised by the protestors,” said Ahuja.

The protestors demanded that only elected members and MCG officials should be present inside official meetings. During the MCG review meeting on Monday, SE Ramesh Sharma allegedly also argued with the mayor’s son and the husbands of two councillors before walking out.

On Thursday, Ahuja issued an order that only MCG officials and elected members can attend official meetings, as per provisions of the Haryana Municipal Corporation Act, 1994.

“The MCG commissioner has assured us that the SE’s suspension will be looked into. We have put our protest on hold for the interim. In case there is no change, we will start protesting from Thursday onwards and this time, we won’t hold back,” said Rajesh Kumar, district president, MCG sanitation workers union, one of the unions supporting the protest.

On Wednesday, the mayor and a dozen councillor met minister Anil Vij demanding action against the SE following which the SE was suspended.

The suspension evoked a strong reaction within the MCG as officials with many saying that Sharma’s suspension was not right.

Despite many attempts, Ramesh Sharma could not be reached for comment.

On Thursday, the protesting employees had observed a pen-down strike, the first such strike in MCG since its inception in 2008.

For Friday, the protestors had threatened for a full-scale strike, however, following talks with senior MCG officials they agreed to execute essential municipal services in the city.

However, no other civic work in the MCG was executed and no files regarding the development or maintenance of amenities were cleared or floated afresh.

“The decision to suspend the SE was taken by the ULB. The protests by Muncipal Corporation of Gurugram officials and workers were a sign of disobeying with the ULB’s decision. I am glad that they have called off the strike for the interim as the public should not suffer the burden of internal MCG matters,” said Azad.