Pensions to be paid on funds availability: EDMC tells court

The East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) told the Delhi High Court on Friday that subject to availability of funds, it has decided to continue its pension scheme for people, including disabled, widow, and aged people.

Filing an affidavit before a division bench of Justice B.D. Ahmed and Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, the EDMC said the house has decided in its meeting to continue with scheme.

Seeking dismisal of the plea, the EDMC said: "The distribution of pension is a discretionary function of the corporation, provided under the statute i.e. Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957 (section 43) and same is subject to availability of funds."

The court was hearing a PIL filed by NGO Social Jurist through advocate Ashok Agarwal terming denial of pension to the old and the disabled as a violation of fundamental rights.

The PIL claims that around 45,000 people were allowed the pension under the municipal corporation's pension schemes but the payment abruptly stopped recently without specifying a reason.

Agarwal said the action of the EDMC is "arbitrary and illegal".

The court had earlier rapped EDMC for not paying the pensions.