Real age 75. Official age 45

Old is definitely not gold as far as some employees of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) are concerned. Bogged down by inefficiency, the civic body is contemplating identifying those who are well past the retirement age but officially are far from crossing it, reports Neelam Pandey.

Old is definitely not gold as far as some employees of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) are concerned.

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Bogged down by inefficiency, the civic body is contemplating identifying those who are well past the retirement age but officially are far from crossing it.

The civic body is planning to request these workers to make use of the voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) so new, efficient staff can be appointed.

Also, MCD staff seeking to get regularised will have to undergo a medical test to ascertain their real age.

According to sources, a number of sanitation workers, baildars and malis employed by the civic agency are more than 60, the retirement age, but on paper they are much younger.

“A number of these employees are as old as 75 but on paper, they are only 45. Many of them are not even able to walk properly, how can they fill up potholes or desilt nullahs (drains), as they are supposed to?,” said a senior MCD official requesting anonymity.

“We plan to request them to avail VRS, so they get all their benefits,” the official said.

According to the MCD, such employees were appointed years back and they had provided affidavits as proof of their age. “As technically, they haven’t crossed the retirement age, we can’t ask them to leave,” the official said.

Most of these employees are engaged in sanitation-related works.

“We have received complaints that these workers aren’t able to perform their duties as they aren’t physically fit. In many cases, they send their children to work, which must be stopped,” the official added.