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Synopsis

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has been admonished by the Delhi High Court for its failure to meet its obligations to employees and pensioners regarding arrears aligned with the 7th Pay Commission. Court criticized the MCD, branding it as 'fundamentally incapable and dysfunctional'. 

This criticism emerged after petitioners informed the court that approximately 60,000 pensioners had not received their arrears. It was revealed that the MCD had decided to disburse Rs 15 crore each month to address the pending arrears. During the hearing, MCD represented by Standing Counsel Divya Prakash Pande stated that salaries and pensions had been paid up to February, with arrears for 40,000 individuals already settled. However, around 60,000 pensioners remained unpaid. Pande mentioned that MCD had committed to allocating at least Rs 15 crore monthly to clear these arrears, covering both current employees and pensioners.

Former MCD employees filed several petitions expressing concern over the non-disbursement of their pensions. They collectively directed their grievances towards the Government of NCT of Delhi, arguing that funds, including Grant-in-Aid, were being withheld, resulting in delays in salary and pension payments to employees and retirees. However, Additional Standing Counsel Satyakam, representing the Government, vehemently denied these allegations, asserting that the government faced similar revenue challenges and anticipated funds from the Union of India exceeding Rs.10,000 crores. Standing Counsel Anil Soni, representing the Union, contested this assertion, calling for clarification on the required funds to be released.

While the court acknowledged the issue of salary and pension non-payment, it initially refrained from intervening in governmental matters or scrutinizing budget allocations between the central and Delhi governments and civic authorities to determine culpability. Instead, it urged government bodies to collaborate and find a solution to ensure timely disbursement of salaries and pensions, considering the financial difficulties faced by employees, retirees, and their families during the ongoing pandemic.

Regarding salary disbursements, Standing Counsel Divya Prakash Pande, representing MCD, reported that salaries for various personnel had been released up to different months in 2020. For retired employees, MCD had disbursed pensions up to April 2020, EDMC up to August 2020, and SDMC up to September 2020. Both legal representatives for EDMC and MCD emphasized the prompt disbursement of outstanding Transfer duties owed by the Delhi Government to the Civic Authorities, enabling the settlement of pension arrears for retired employees.

Additional Standing Counsel Satyakam mentioned receiving explicit instructions regarding MCD, stating that Rs 63 crores in Transfer duties for July and August 2020 were being processed. He clarified that while the Delhi Government would disburse Transfer duties owed to MCD and EDMC, it was up to the Civic authorities to decide how these funds would be utilized to meet their obligations to retired employees, cautioning against presuming Transfer duties solely funded pension releases.

Observing that the set of petitions brought forth by the employees and pensioners had been unresolved for seven years, the court stated that the MCD was not entitled to exert undue pressure on financially disadvantaged individuals, as the settlement of their outstanding payments is not an act of benevolence. TCourt instructed the MCD to settle the outstanding payments for February within 10 days from the date of the order. 

Case Title: Nagar Nigam Sewa Nivrit Karmchari Kalyan Samiti And Ors v Gyanesh Bharti