Compensation sought for BMC workers at Andheri, Mulund sports complexes

The corporators demanded that workers of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), who are employed at two sports complexes situated in Mulund and Andheri, should be paid compensation.

The demand was raised during the standing committee meeting of the BMC on Friday.

Vishakha Raut, senior Shiv Sena corporator and leader of the house in the BMC moved a point of order for this issue, urging the administration to act on it. "There are around 120 employees in both the complexes whose monthly salary was around ten thousand rupees. Now the complexes are shut for more than a year and the municipal administration should provide them a monetary compensation or temporary financial relief so that they can support themselves," said Raut.

"The BMC has paid around Rs 2,100 crore to BEST which is a transport body, isn't it the moral responsibility of the civic body, to support its own employees," she added.

Raut's statement was supported by leaders beyond party lines. Ravi Raja - senior Congress corporator and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the BMC said that it is high time that the administration should react to it. "This issue has been brought to the standing committee seeking administration's attention for some time now, but they are yet to take a call. It is time that the BMC thinks about the welfare of its workers as well," said Raja.

Vinod Mishra, BJP group leader and corporator, said that his party supported this issue during the meeting, even though the members didn't speak on this matter.

During Friday's meeting, the leaders had asked the BMC administration to produce a report of the litigation cases that the BMC has won with the help of its appointed law officers. "There was a agenda regarding the recruitment of an assistant law officer in the BMC. We have raised our objection stating that, if BMC has its own law officers then why do they appoint lawyers from outside for fighting their cases," said Mishra.