EDMC saw crisis coming, could do nothing
GRAVITY OF THE CRISIS COULD BE GAUGED FROM THE FACT THAT THE SANITATION WORKERS WERE NOT BEING PAID
NEWDELHI: The East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) was aware of the fact that it was heading for a severe financial crisis in the third quarter of the financial year but made no efforts to avert the crisis. The agency just sent letters to the Delhi government seeking financial assistance.
Sources in the civic body said, the finance department plans everything, including salary disbursement three-four months in advance, they knew that the situation will escalate to this level if adequate funds are not arranged.
“Fund shortage is not developed overnight, it takes months to build up. It must have started around July-August. Why did the authority not act then? Question must be raised,” said a source.
He said the gravity of the crisis could be gauged from the fact that the sanitation workers are not being paid. “When such a situation arises, it is clear that the stopping employees’ salary should be the last resort. In case of scarcity of funds, priority should be given to class IV employees and sanitation workers. If they were not getting salaries, it means that the situation was beyond their control,” said a source.
A senior official said they had been writing to the Delhi government for assistance regularly. “We also wrote to the government in October but it was to no avail. The corporation couldn’t do anything except ask for grants or financial assistance from the government because EDMC can’t augment its revenue resources given the area being governed by it,” he said.
He said that the economic state of the EDMC has been in a mess since the trifurcation and no concrete measures were taken to improve its financial health. “We managed to pay salaries and clear other dues in the beginning of the financial year because of property tax collection and the first installment of our global share. By the end of the third quarter, the condition deteriorates,” said an official, requesting anonymity.