Intervening in the ongoing tussle between the Centre, the Delhi government, and the sanitation workers, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Tuesday issued notices to the Delhi Government, EDMC and its Workers Union to summon them for a hearing on Wednesday.
The NGT on Tuesday took authorities to task for sanitation services in east Delhi coming to a standstill and sought a response from the Centre and the Delhi government, and recognised workers' union over employees' strike due to non-payment of salary.
The green court, taking notice of the situation on the ground, also announced the formation of a committee to tackle the menace of solid waste in Delhi.
A bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar issued notices to the Environment Ministry, the Ministry of Urban Development, the AAP government and sanitation Workers' Union, asking them what steps have been taken to remove waste from the streets and to apprise it about the reasons for the deadlock on the issue.
The move comes after the sanitation workers’ strike entered its sixth day. Even as the Delhi government released Rs 119 crore to the EDMC, the striking sanitation workers on Tuesday dumped piles of garbage on city roads over non-payment of their salaries for the last two months.
Residents in affected areas like Laxmi Nagar and Geeta Colony fear disease outbreaks due to the piled-up garbage. However, thing got messy on Tuesday after protesting sanitation workers dumped garbage outside the residence of Raju Dhingan, the AAP MLA from Trilokpuri.
Since 2015, East Corporation sanitation workers have gone on strike five times over non-payment of salary. This time, it's over non-payment of their November and December salaries.
Political Blame Game Ensues
Political parties from across the board have targeted each other over the issue. On Monday Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal accused the BJP of politicising the issue and claimed that the current impasse is the result of rampant corruption.
Responding to the Delhi CM’s comments, Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari advised the chief minister to “not play with numbers related to funds provided by the government to the civic body and announce a special package for the East Delhi Municipal Corporation.”
The Congress, however, attacked both the AAP and the BJP over sanitation workers strike in the city and accused the city government of reducing the civic bodies' allocations.
“It is sad that the sanitation workers of the Municipal Corporations of Delhi have resorted to strike for the fifth time in two years after the AAP government came to power in Delhi, demanding their salaries and arrears.”Ajay Maken, Chief, Delhi Congress
(With agency inputs.)
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