HC ORDER ON WAGES FOR BUS DRIVERS NOT IMPLEMENTED

New Delhi, March 15: Irked over non- compliance of its direction to raise pay of the drivers of buses run under the DIMTS cluster scheme in accordance with the hike in minimum wages, the Delhi high court directed the transport commissioner to be present before it on Friday.

A bench of acting chief justice Gita Mittal and justice C. Hari Shankar said non- compliance of its December 6, 2017 order had led to more than 700 cluster buses being off the city roads today as the drivers were on strike.

“You ( the Delhi government) cannot be at war with everyone, the citizens, your officers. Don’t do this to the citizens of Delhi. This is contumacious,” the court said after it was informed that while the transport minister was in favour of hiking the drivers’ pay, the department officials had not taken a decision.

Warning of initiating contempt action against the officials concerned, the bench directed that the transport commissioner be present before it tomorrow morning.

The direction came on an application by one of the concessionaires running the cluster buses in the city who claimed that the government has not decided on implementing the court’s order, as a result 700 of its drivers were on strike.

Therefore, an equal number of buses were also off the road, causing inconvenience to several commuters.