LG asks Delhi govt to pay DSFDC salaries

Lieutenant governor (LG) VK Saxena asked the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, on priority, to look into pending salaries of DSFDC (Delhi SC/ST/OBC/Minority, Safai Karamcharis and Handicapped Financial and Development Corporation), officials with the LG secretariat said on Saturday.
Officials said that the LG wrote to the government after a delegation of employees recently met him to inform that their salaries had not been paid for nine months, and also cited an instance of suicide, alleging that many were suffering from mental trauma due to financial insecurity.
In response, the AAP said that the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal halted all progress. “Now that he is out of jail, work has resumed, and employees will soon receive their pending salaries,” the AAP said in a statement.
“The LG also advised the government to revive this once flourishing corporation, now lying defunct due to sheer neglect and apathy on part of the government for the past 10 years. The LG has asked for employees to be provided with immediate relief in terms of their salaries and advised the AAP government to revive the corporation by way of restructuring, financial support, etc.,” an official with the LG’s office said.
DSFDC was set up in 1983 and ran programmes, such as formulation of economic development schemes, mobilising institutional credit and education loans to targeted sections, allotting and maintaining work sheds, running training schemes and a computer footwear design centre, and general loan scheme for self-employment of sanitation workers.
Officials said that several other departments were also facing problems of unpaid salaries.
“Several other organisations, comprising thousands of employees, including those of DTC, education department, aided DU colleges, etc. have been facing the situation of non-payment of their due salaries and have made several representations to the LG,” the official said.
“DSFDC, which once provided financial assistance to entrepreneurs, has now been reduced to a body paying salaries to its employees out of its corpus, which is now completely depleted,” the official said.
The AAP said that since his release from jail, Arvind Kejriwal has been diligently working to resolve the stopped works. “He ensured the release of pensions for the elderly, timely salaries for MCD employees, and ensured the release of salaries to DTC employees. Similarly, all pending salaries for employees will be cleared soon,” the AAP said.