"We May Direct Attachment Of Properties": Delhi High Court Warns NDMC For Non Payment Of Salaries, Pensions To Employees Amid Covid

The Delhi High Court on Monday warned the North Delhi Municipal Corporation of attachment of its properties for its failure to pay salaries and pensions to employees in the wake of covid 19 pandemic.

A division bench comprising of Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Jasmeet Singh directed the Chairman of NDMC to disclose details, under his own affidavit, of all immovable and movable properties along with their estimated value in particular of the bank accounts held by NDMC with banks and financial institutions and the amount held therein till July 1, 2021.

"You need to take some drastic cut. We may direct attachment and sales of the properties." the bench said.

However, the counsel appearing for NDMC assured the Court that the stage of attachment of its properties will not come.

The development came after the three Municipal Corporations namely East Delhi Municipal Corporation, South Delhi Municipal Corporation and North Delhi Municipal Corporation were present before the Court. 

The Court was thereafter apprised by the counsel appearing for SDMC and EDMC that the salaries and pensions of their employees have been successfully disbursed and that no arrears were pending concerning the two Corporations.

However, the Court took strong note of the failure on part of NDMC for not paying the respective salaries and pensions to its employees.

"They (employees) are entitled to release of their salaries and pensions and they cannot be told that the Corporations do not have the fund to make payment of their salaries and pensions and that cannot be cited as a ground for non payment." The bench observed.

Furthermore, the bench went ahead to observe thus:

"We've already said that right to receive salaries and pensions constitutes fundamental right and we've already directed Corporations to disburse salaries and pensions to all class of employees."

In view of this, while posting the matter for further hearing on June 6, the Court directed "We direct the NDMC chairman of his own affidavit to disclose details of all immovable and movable properties along with their estimated value in particular of the bank accounts held by NDMC with banks and financial institutions and the amount held therein till July 1, 2021. Let the affidavit be filed till 4 July, 2021."

Earlier in April this year, NDMC had informed the Court that despite the court's earlier order of Mar 24 wherein the Delhi government was directed to make remaining payments of all the Municipal Corporations on the revised estimates of the Basic Tax Assignment (BTA) by Apr 5, these payments had not been made to them.

Lashing out at the Delhi government, the bench said to the counsel for the Delhi Government, "We don't live in ivory towers. There are full page ads everyday in newspapers with pictures of politicians. We have seen those and you would've as well - spending money in these times on propaganda (while salaries are pending) is this not criminal?"