Nagpur: Thousands of employees of Nagpur Municipal Corporation ‘expecting a Diwali gift’ in the form of payment of ‘Dearness Allowance’ (DA) arrears were left fuming when the Mayor Nanda Jichkar totally rejected their demand in this regard. On the other hand, a hefty hike in the ‘honorarium’ of Corporators rubbed the salt on the ‘wounds’ of the dejected employees.
A delegation of NMC Employees Union on Tuesday afternoon met the Mayor in her chamber and demanded payment of DA arrears. The Mayor reportedly rejected the demand citing poor financial condition of the civic body.
It is a fact that the NMC is fighting the financial crisis since past few years due to various reasons. Even the development proposals of Corporators are being ‘dumped’ in the cupboards. But to the chagrin of the employees, the ruling party got the years old demand of three-fold hike (Rs 20,000) in ‘honorarium’ of Corporators approved by State Government. The babus are being put on the edge by giving them the ‘targets of recovery’ on various counts. The babus were found short of the expectation and failed miserably to complete the targets and thus left the NMC Administration as well as Standing Committee red-faced.
According to NMC Employees Union, payment of ‘DA’ arrears is pending since past 52 months. The Union had demanded payment of DA arrears of seven months. But the demand was totally rejected by the Mayor. The rejection of demand left the NMC employees dejected and angry as well as they were expecting a “Diwali gift” in the form of payment of DA arrears.
