Delhi gives EDMC Rs 200-crore loan to pay salaries

The Delhi government on Friday approved a loan of Rs 200 crore to the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) for payment of salaries of its employees till March.

A government official said Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia approved the loan on condition that it is spent only for payment of salaries of the EDMC employees.

The government last month approved an advance sum of Rs 119 crore to the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) after its employees went on strike to protest non-payment of salaries.

Sisodia, who is also the Finance Minister, had then said the government had already released Rs 609 crore to the EDMC this year -- significantly higher amount compared to what was given during previous governments.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has repeatedly accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of mismanagement of funds in the Municipal Corporations, all three of which are controlled by the BJP.

On January 17, the AAP-dominated Delhi Assembly passed a resolution to set up a fact-finding committee to probe how funds are being utilised by the three municipal corporations.

The move came after the indefinite strike called by sanitation workers of the EDMC over non-payment of their salaries, leading to a garbage crisis.

--IANS

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