The AAP on Friday claimed that the three BJP-run municipal corporations together have fired nearly 1,000 sanitation workers this week.
“The BJP has fired approximately 1,000-1,200 workers, that too just two years after the COVID-19 hit the country, at a time when the economy is at a low point,” AAP in-charge for municipal corporations, Durgesh Pathak said.
Delhi BJP Spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor described AAP’s allegations as “baseless”, which were aimed at maligning the corporations.
Let go
Mr. Pathak claimed that in addition to the sanitation workers, around 250 workers, mostly housekeeping staff, were fired by the North civic body. He also alleged that several data entry operators were fired by the South civic body and many contractual workers were let go by the East civic body.
The developments unfolding at the civic bodies, Mr. Pathak said, were the opposite of what the BJP-led Centre had promised with the reunification of the three municipalities.
Mr. Pathak also said that in the north-east zone, which comes under the East Delhi Municipal Corporation, a private company hired by the civic body had decided to stop collecting garbage within a week.
He said if the situation is not resolved in the next 15-20 days, garbage will be strewn across the streets of the Capital.
BJP’s response
“All allegations by Durgesh Pathak against North, South & East DMC are false. North DMC has not removed any housekeeping staff, only the housekeeping vendor has been changed for the entire Civic Centre Complex, but with a condition to continue with the existing sanitation workers,” said Mr. Kapoor.
He added that similarly, the South civic body had not dismissed the data operators. He said their contract had expired and the Mayor was working to ensure that their contract is renewed within the next few days.
He said AAP’s allegations about the non-collection of garbage were “surprising” as last month an AAP leader, Manoj Tyagi, had himself alleged that the company which is doing the collection is a non-performing company against whom action should be taken, “and today Mr. Pathak is defending the same company.”
