Will release grant-in-aid to two DU colleges for paying salaries: AAP govt to HC

The AAP government on Tuesday told the Delhi High Court that it will release to two DU colleges, fully funded by it, the amounts for the two quarters of financial year 2020-21 to enable them to pay salaries of their staff.

The grant-in-aid would be released in two days to Maharshi Valmiki College of Education and Keshav Mahavidyalaya in accordance with the high court’s directions of November 4 in a similar matter, the Delhi government told Justice Jyoti Singh.

On November 4, a division bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Subramonium Prasad had directed the Delhi government to release by November 9, the remaining amount of two quarters to four Delhi University colleges -- Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar College, Bhagini Nivedita College, Aditi Mahavidyalaya Women’s College and Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies -- so they can pay salaries of their staff.

The instant submission was made by Delhi government during hearing of a plea which has claimed that for the last five months salaries and other emoluments of serving teaching and non-teaching staff have not been paid by their respective colleges.

The plea by the Social Democratic Teachers’ Front has also claimed that even the retiral benefits of the pensioners have not been paid.   They contended that the non-payment of the salaries and retiral benefits is causing hardship to the teaching and non-teaching staff, both serving and retired, during the prevailing COVID-19 situation.

During the hearing on Tuesday, Delhi government additional standing counsel Jawahar Raja told Justice Singh that a decision was taken on November 27 to release grant-in-aid to these two colleges, for two quarters of this financial year, so they can pay their staff.

According to the plea before the division bench, salaries have not been paid to teaching and non-teaching staff of 12 colleges which are affiliated with the Delhi University and are fully funded by the Delhi government.

The 12 colleges are Acharya Narendra Dev College, Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar College, Bhaskaracharya College of Applied Sciences, Bhagini Nivedita College, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College, Aditi Mahavidyalaya Women’s College, Indira Gandhi Institute of Physical Education & Sports Sciences, Keshav Mahavidyalaya, Maharaja Agrasen College (DU), Maharshi Valmiki College of Education, Shaheed Rajguru College of Applied Sciences for Women and Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies.