Expecting to meet the CM today - Sanitation crisis of East Delhi !

4th October 2018

Mr. Arvind Kejriwal,

CM, Delhi

Subject: Strike of the Sanitation workers in east Delhi

Dear Sir,

The situation of East Delhi is worsening day by day. It is the 23rd day of the strike of the Sanitation workers and the entire east Delhi is stinking with the Garbage littered all over. It's the alarming stage now as the residents of this part of the city are expecting the spread of some epidemic in the coming days. Please view some of our tweets as below:

Pathetic East Delhi - #selfiewithgarbage - 21 days of Strike of Sanitation workers #stinking #garbage #epidemic #shocking #environment #sanitationstrike #godsave #eastdelhi #shocking pic.twitter.com/xOzBuI6bf4

— B S Vohra (@vohrabs) October 1, 2018

#selfiewithgarbage It's trending now in East Delhi after 21 day's of Strike of Sanitation workers. #trending #trendingnow #stinking #garbage #sanitation #strike #godsave #eastdelhi #shocking pic.twitter.com/kzkhxIzbqR

— B S Vohra (@vohrabs) October 1, 2018

It is shocking that no one is willing to listen. 

We met the EDMC persons and they have told us very clearly, that they have received only Rs 590 crores from the Delhi Govt, while they have a due of Rs. 2,541.98 crores, for this year only, from the Delhi Government and hence they don't have the funds.

We met our Dy CM Mr. Manish Sisodia, 8 days ago and he said that all the due amount has already been paid. He promised to send the details of the payments done to the EDMC, but so far we are still awaiting the details.

Today, we are coming for a meeting with you with the high hopes for the City that is facing the worst ever crisis. On this 23rd day of the sanitation workers strike, things look horrible, giving the impression that probably, east Delhi is not a part of the National Capital. Shockingly, it has happened for the 8th time in a row, in a span of four years, while nothing constructive has been done to resolve the issue permanently. 

Therefore, can we expect from you, that being the CM of the entire city, you will come forward immediately, to rescue the eastern part of Delhi, from the clutches of the forthcoming epidemic?

Sir, You don't have any financial problem as, by the grace of the GST & Petrol, your revenues are already on the peak. In such circumstances, the small sums of a few hundred crores don't matter much to your Govt., but it can definitely stop the situation from deteriorating further.

May we request you to please share with us the details of Total payments due to the EDMC & actual payments made by the Delhi Government to EDMC to counter the claims of EDMC that they have got only Rs. 590 crores from you?

Moreover, we would like you to move forward for a Unified MCD so that this problem is resolved permanently, as there seems no other alternative, while the residents of EDMC are truly fed up of the routine strikes of the sanitation workers.

Looking forward to a Positive reply from the leader who had been voted to power by the entire city, with the absolute majority. 

With best regards,

B S Vohra,
President,
East Delhi RWAs Joint Front - Federation
www.RWABhagidari.com
www.RWABhagidari.blogspot.in
#selfiewithgarbage

Selfie with Garbage - #selfiewithgarbage

Can just hope that CM will be available tomorrow !

@ArvindKejriwal We will visit you tomorrow morning at 10 am to talk about the worsening situation of east Delhi due to the strike of the Sanitation workers. On the 22nd day today, things look horrible, giving the impression that east Delhi is not a part of the national capital. pic.twitter.com/tmyOe4a5Jl

— B S Vohra (@vohrabs) October 3, 2018

Garbage & Misery Piles up for East Delhi’s Residents - The Quint - #selfiewithgarbage

Sanitation strike : HT

Sanitation strike : TOI

East Delhi sanitation workers refuse to end strike until their demands are met

The demands of sanitation workers of east Delhi, who have been on strike since September 11, include regularisation of about 3,000 contractual workers who were enrolled after 1998, regular payment of salaries and clearance of dues.

As the city observed the fourth anniversary of the Swacchh Bharat Abhiyan on October 2, the streets of east Delhi were strewn with garbage, lying on the roads since the past 22 days due to a strike by sanitation workers of the east Delhi municipal corporation (EDMC), which began on September 11.

The workers have refused to return to work until their demands are fulfilled by the corporation. The demands include regularisation of about 3,000 contractual workers who were enrolled after 1998, regular payment of salaries and clearance of dues.

Earlier, the striking workers had taken the matter to EDMC commissioner Ranbir Singh but did not get relief as the commissioner refused to regularise these workers, citing that it will add a burden of about Rs 1,500 crore on the cash-strapped municipal corporation.

The BJP-ruled EDMC opposed the commissioner’s decision and called a special house meeting for his impeachment on Monday. However, prior to the meeting, the EDMC commissioner went on leave.

The sanitation workers have decided to continue their strike.

“We never wanted the commissioner to get a transfer or face an impeachment order. We will continue our strike unless we get a solution. The agitating workers will not sweep roads, pick up garbage and gather outside the EDMC headquarters on Wednesday,” said Sanjay Gehlot, president of the MCD Swachhata Karmchari Union (MCDSKU).

Residents, meanwhile, said they want the civic agency to make temporary arrangements to end the mess. “The streets are stinking and garbage is all over the place. To end the nuisance, at least some temporary arrangement for lifting garbage should be made,” BS Vohra, a resident of Krishna Nagar, said.

In last three and half years, sanitation workers of the EDMC have struck work six times for non-payment of salaries, arrears, cashless insurance and other demands.

Gehlot said that though the Union government is spending crores of rupees in the name of “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan”, no one was bothered about the plight of the sanitation employees who work in very unhygienic conditions.

“We didn’t participate in the cleanliness drive to mark Swachh Bharat Abhiyan on October 2,” said Sanjit Chandel, president of the Delhi Pradesh Safai Mazdoor Union.

EDMC generates about 2,600 tonnes of waste every day. “Due to the strike, we are able to lift 1800-2000 tonne of garbage from dhalaos. But no arrangement could be made for lifting garbage from roads,” said a senior official from the department of environment management services.

with thanks: HT: Link

CM Sahib, Can we meet tomorrow at 10 AM ?

@ArvindKejriwal Garbage And Misery Piles up for East Delhi’s Residents & there is no answer from you. Can we meet tomorrow at 10 AM? Please go through @YahooNews story done by @TheQuint #Selfiewithgarbage #sanitationstrike #garbage #stink #politics https://t.co/UXNGYVkJ8o pic.twitter.com/RdhfYKzQJy

— B S Vohra (@vohrabs) October 2, 2018

@ArvindKejriwal
CM SAAB, CAN WE MEET TODAY? OFCOURSE IT'S THE 2ND OCTOBER, A HOLIDAY, BUT IT'S THE 21ST DAY OF THE SANITATION STRIKE IN EAST DELHI, WITH STINKING GARBAGE LITTERED ALL OVER. PLEASE REPLY AS IT IS THE PERIOD OF SEVERE CRISIS FOR EAST DELHI. #selfiewithgarbage pic.twitter.com/3ym7AZpKVl

— B S Vohra (@vohrabs) October 2, 2018

Garbage And Misery Piles up for East Delhi’s Residents - Yahoo News

Video Editor: Deepthi Ramdas

Since September 12 a section of sanitation workers haven’t shown up for work in East Delhi. This has resulted in garbage pilling up on the streets and there is no one to clean and clear the roads.

Tired of living amidst the stink and garbage, a joint front of East Delhi Resident’s Welfare Association decided to capture this menace with their campaign ‘Selfie With Garbage’.

View image on Twitter

B S Vohra@vohrabs

@Outlookindia @firstpost @ariannahuff
SELFIE WITH GARBAGE - IT'S THE PROTEST AGAINST THE DIRTY POLITICS OF EAST DELHI #sanitationStrike #garbage #stink #Dengue #Cicicauthorities #civilsociety https://rwabhagidari.blogspot.com/2018/09/selfie-with-garbage-its-protest-against.html …

10:54 PM - Sep 29, 2018

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“We started our campaign on the 17th day of the strike. We couldn’t bear the stink and condition of the streets. We had to do something about it,” says BS Vohra, East Delhi’s RWAs Joint Front President.

B S Vohra@vohrabs

Pathetic East Delhi - #selfiewithgarbage - 21 days of Strike of Sanitation workers #stinking #garbage #epidemic #shocking #environment #sanitationstrike #godsave #eastdelhi #shocking

9:56 AM - Oct 1, 2018

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BS Vohra and others met officials from Delhi Government and the MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) regarding the garbage hazards. While the former said that they’ve made the payments, the latter said they have no funds.

“Where does this leave us? We don’t see our streets getting cleaned at all. These are the politicians we voted for, elected them to power and they leave us like this,” says Vohra.

Vohra urges Delhiwallas to take a selfie standing next to garbage and share it with them. “This is the only way we can wake our sleeping politicians up. We will share these photographs with our netas.”

Vohra hopes that the authorities take some strict action and get’s this filth sorted out. “It’s been nearly three weeks and still no sight of the sanitation workers. East Delhi has now become the breading hub of all kinds of diseases,” says Vohra.

with thanks: Yahoo News: LINK

No end in sight to east Delhi’s trash woes - The Hindu

EDMC safai karamcharis demand arrears among other things; garbage piling up on streets since Sept 12

        

Garbage has been piling up on the streets of east Delhi for two weeks since safai karamcharis employed by the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EMDC) went on strike, their fourth since 2015, on September 12.

Apart from regularisation, they have been demanding payment of salary arrears and benefits, like sanctioning of cashless medical cards and dispersal of retirement benefits, on time.

MCD Swachhata Karamchari Union president Sanjay Gehlot said on Sunday, “We are willing to call off the strike if all workers employed till 2017 are regularised.”

However, it is unclear when the deadlock will get resolved — thanks to contradictions between the bureaucracy and the political leadership within the cash-strapped EDMC, which is fighting the Delhi government for funds in court. At a House meeting on September 26, a resolution was passed directing the EDMC Commissioner to regularise all karamcharis employed by the civic body since 1998. But financial implications of this will be staggering, said officials.

“About 9,210 worker stand to be regularised. If this is done, the corporation will have an additional liability of ₹1,500 crore in arrears and an increase of ₹250 crore in monthly payment of wages. It will be imprudent for me to take such an action when we are already in the red,” said EDMC Commissioner Ranbir Singh.

Mr. Singh said he had put forth an alternative solution — as and when karamcharis retire, the same number of staffers be regularised on the same day. He claimed the proposal was accepted initially but rejected when brought in front of the EDMC Mayor and the Standing Committee Chairman.

“The political leadership is intervening and working counter-intuitively towards governance in the corporation,” he said.

Responding to Mr. Singh’s allegation, Standing Committee Chairperson Satpal Singh said, “He is lying about the karamcharis not taking up the offer because of us. We did not say a word or interfere.”

On the political leadership’s decision to move a motion seeking the EDMC Commissioner’s removal on Monday, Mr. Satpal Singh said, “The Commissioner is trying to make the political wing invalid. He is not even willing to start the process of regularisation. He is only interested in running the corporation like a business and figuring out ways to make money.”

However, EDMC officials maintained the corporation cannot afford to make all payments unless it gets funds from the Delhi government. Officials in the civic body’s Accounts Department said the corporation has a liability of ₹1,796 crore. Of this, arrears due to the nearly 7,000 safai karamcharis regularised in 2013 amount to ₹600 crore. The EDMC has been sanctioned ₹590 crore from the Delhi government this year and is expected to generate about ₹1,000 crore from other revenue streams, including property tax, fines and advertisements.

In a report submitted to the Chief Secretary on September 5, the EDMC had stated that it has a minimum monthly expense of ₹192.5 crore, including wages, contractual payments, medical expenses and court attachments. Following court orders, ₹60 crore of this amount is kept aside to pay salaries of safai karamcharis on time. The report said pensions and salaries of group A, B and C employees have been pending for two months, and gratuity and other retirement benefits since October 2015.

EDMC Deputy Controller of Accounts Hari Prasad explained, “The problem is not the amount the government disperses but the formula by which the funds are divided between the three corporations.”

While the government has not enacted the recommendations of the Fourth Finance Commission in full, which provide a new formula for distribution of funds to the three corporations, Mr. Prasad said, “They tell us they are distributing funds based on a formula given by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation. But one corporation should not have a say on how much money another corporation gets.”

The Delhi High Court has on multiple occasions directed the city government to disburse funds to the corporations according to recommendations of the Fourth Finance Commission. However, the government has appealed against the decision and the matter is being heard in the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, the BJP-led corporation’s request to workers to get back to work has fallen on deaf ears. The EDMC even filed a police complaint against union leaders, alleging that they had threatened corporation employees.

“They [the EDMC] have been saying that they will fire us but they cannot do that,” said Mr. Gehlot.

Since the strike started, the amount of garbage collected has seen a dip. While an average of 2,212 metric tonnes (MT) of garbage was collected during the first 15 days of September, the collection amount after the strike has consistently stayed below average. EDMC officials said while 80% of waste — whatever comes from households — is still being collected but streets are not being swept.

‘Selfie With Garbage’

Meanwhile, the residents seem to have lost patience. East Delhi Residents’ Welfare Association Joint Front president B.S. Vohra, who started the ‘Selfie With Garbage’ campaign on September 29, claimed to have received 150 photographs on Sunday.

with thanks: The Hindu: LINK

#selfiewithgarbage - It's trending now !