The Delhi High Court on Thursday reserved its order for April 18 on the issue of payment of salaries to the employees of the three Municipal Corporations after the Delhi government said it had released the non-Plan grant-in-aid to the civic bodies in accordance with the recommendations of the Third Finance Commission.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath was informed during the hearing on a batch of writ petitions that the Municipal Corporations did not have funds for payment of salaries for March to their employees.
When the counsel representing the Municipal Corporations said the Delhi government had not released the Municipal Reform Fund (MRF), the Delhi government’s counsel affirmed that the MRF was a conditional incentive, for which the civic bodies had to satisfy the government by their performance.
The court observed that the Delhi government could not make a plea that it had no obligation towards the three Municipal Corporations with regard to payment of salaries to their employees, including safai karamcharis .
The Delhi government took a stand that the Centre could not escape from its responsibility.
