With over Rs. 5 lakh due from the Delhi Government towards payment for services for a four-month period, Sakha Cabs that caters to the women staffers of the 181 Helpline at the Delhi Secretariat may be forced to discontinue its service from December 1.
Sakha Cabs director Nayantara Janardhan told The Hindu that the all-women-cab service works with resource-poor women who have family members dependent on their earnings yet she has not been able to pay her chauffeurs their salaries on time for the last three months. The monthly earning of each woman driver is roughly Rs. 10,000- 10, 500. “We have had to take personal loans to tide over this financial crunch since we are a small outfit. Our office staff has not received salaries for October till date,” she said.
“Payment has not been made for the months of July, August, September and October and the total amount owed to us is Rs. 5.16 lakh. This is despite innumerable follow ups with the concerned department. The agreement with the Delhi Government clearly states that payments are to be made within a month of receiving the bill,” she said.
In August, The Hindu had reported that the cab service was facing a five-month backlog in payments due from the Delhi Government which Ms. Janardhan said has now been resolved. “That time the Government owed us for services rendered between January and June which took us one month of visiting the Delhi Secretariat everyday to make sure it finally comes through. Each time we were told a different reason for the late payment. It appears that there is a complete lack of coordination,” she said. While the ‘181’ helpline was initially set up under the Chief Minister’s Office, it currently functions under the Department of Women and Child Development. A senior official said that the file concerning the dues is with the Chief Secretary and is expected to be cleared as early as Monday. “We completely understand what they (Sakha Cabs) are going through and we are trying our level best to make sure the payment is made at the earliest,” said the official.
