BMC worker’s widow seeks high court help for job

After failing to get a response from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for over a year, a widow is now seeking the Bombay high court’s help to get a job with the civic body.

After failing to get a response from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for over a year, a widow is now seeking the Bombay high court’s help to get a job with the civic body.

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Manisha Waghela, 30, has filed a petition in the high court seeking that the BMC should provide her with a job after her husband, a conservancy worker, passed away in 2009 because of an illness caused due to his work.

She sought that the BMC should be restrained from evicting her and her four-year-old daughter from the service quarters in D-ward (south Mumbai).

A division bench of justice PB Majmudar and justice Amjad Sayed told the BMC not to take any action while directing them to file their reply by February 8.

Waghela’s husband, Kiran, 30, died of tuberculosis on July 13. He had been employed with the BMC since November 2005 as a scavenger labourer of solid waste management department.

Under provisions of preferential treatment, in the event of death of an employee during period of service, next of kin can fill his vacancy on compassionate grounds. Kiran had secured a job with the BMC after his mother, also a scavenger labourer, passed away in 2005.

In May 2007, Kiran fell ill. He resumed work in November that year, but his name was deleted from the muster. He fell sick again and passed away in 2009.

Reshma Ravi, Manisha’s advocate, argued that Kiran died due to medical complications that arose due to nature of work. Ravi said Waghela was orally informed she was not eligible under the preferential treatment as Kiran’s name was not on the muster roll.