Pay Primary School Teachers' Dues Within A Month: Delhi HC To Municipal Corporations [Read Order]

The Delhi High Court has directed the Municipal Corporations of Delhi to pay their primary school teachers their salary for the last month within a week and to pay all arrears within a month.

"No employee cannot be expected to render sincere services without receiving salary, his lawful entitlement for services rendered. It is painful to visualize the quality of services which would be rendered by the teachers to children of critical ages studying in primary schools, without receipt of their salaries. Furthermore, families of the teachers would also be suffering deprivation for want of critical finance," the Bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C. Hari Shankar observed.

The Court was hearing a PIL alleging non-payment of salaries to teachers of primary schools run by the East Delhi Municipal Corporation and the North Delhi Municipal Corporation for three and two months, respectively.

During a recent hearing, the Court noted that this was the second writ petition on the Municipal Corporation's inability to meet its financial obligations. Earlier, the Court had been approached with a PIL on non-payment of salaries of sanitation employees of the city’s municipal bodies.

The East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) submitted that the situation has arisen due to non-release of amounts under the Fourth Delhi Finance Commission by the State. The Court then noted that EDMC was the "poorest" of the three Municipal Corporations.

Directing the authorities to examine the financial difficulties being faced by the three corporations, it observed, "This matter needs a serious examination so as to ensure that every citizen of Delhi, irrespective of the corporation under whose jurisdiction he/she is residing, receives optimal services from the concerned Corporation. The financial capacity of all three municipal corporations are required to be identically situated so far as availability of funds are concerned, enabling discharge of municipal functions."

The matter has now been listed on 23 April.