High court refuses urgent hearing to end Delhi sanitation strike

The petitioner said the authorities be asked to impose Essential Services Maintenance Act against nearly 25,000 municipal employees of the EDMC who went on strike

The Delhi high court on Monday refused to give an urgent hearing on a plea seeking a direction to the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) employees to end their indefinite strike, which began from January 5 due to non-payment of salary.

A petitioner, who claims to be a social worker, has moved the high court for urgent listing of the matter on the ground that if garbage is not removed, there will be “apprehension of break out of an epidemic”. (Sonu Mehta/Hindustan Times)

“Why today? The matter can be taken up later also. List it for hearing tomorrow (Tuesday) before the appropriate bench,” a bench of Justice BD Ahmed and Justice Ashutosh Kumar said.

A petitioner, who claims to be a social worker, has moved the high court for urgent listing of the matter on the ground that if garbage is not removed, there will be “apprehension of break out of an epidemic”.

Advocate Sugriva Dubey, appearing for petitioner Salek Chand Jain, submitted that the EDMC has committed a contempt of court by disobeying the Delhi high court order that salaries to all its employees, including sanitation workers, should be paid by the 7th of every month.

Read: Arvind Kejriwal attacks BJP over garbage mess in Delhi

The counsel told the court that the Delhi government and the corporation should immediately be directed to release salaries to sanitation workers who went on strike, threatening to turn east Delhi into an eyesore of garbage-lined streets and overflowing ‘dhalaos’, much like June last year.

The petitioner also said that the authorities concerned be asked to impose Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) against nearly 25,000 municipal employees of the EDMC, who went on a strike on January 5 over non-payment of the salary for last two months, bringing the services to a standstill.

This is the third consecutive year when the municipal workers have gone on a strike due to non-payment of salary.