EDMC sanitation workers strike: politics gets murkier in city

Streets in east Delhi and AAP-MCD politics in the city today seemed to turn messier over the ongoing indefinite strike by EDMC sanitation workers, even as Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia claimed that the Arvind Kejriwal dispensation has given "more funds" to civic bodies than any other previous governments.
"This government (AAP) has given more funds to the municipal corporations than any other governments in the past. I don't know where do they spend it," he said.
"The political executive of the municipal corporation takes interest in things like not letting the MLAs do their works under development funds, and ask municipal corporation officials to not roam around with MLAs. But, what do they do with funds given by us," he asked.

Sisodia also alleged that BJP-ruled civic bodies were "busy extracting bribe and not taxes".
"If they would collect taxes properly, from half of its amount they can pay for the salaries of these employees. But, we don't know which drain they flush the money," he alleged.
The BJP-ruled corporations have blamed the AAP government for the civic mess in the capital.

"You (media) should ask the MCD, what happened to the fund we gave them. What are they accusing us of," he said.
Meanwhile, the civic condition in east Delhi has worsened, with garbage dumped in the open in area like Laxmi Nagar, Patparganj, posing health hazard for people.

"We are yet to be paid our three months' salary (October-December), DA, bonus due to which we aren't able to pay school fees of children and marriages have been postponed. We will continue with the strike, until our demands our met," president of Delhi unit of MCD Swachhata Karmchari Union Sanjay Gehlot said.
"If our demands are not met, we will take sterner stand from Monday," he said and claimed that 17,000 sanitation workers are participating in the strike.
"Delhi government has given more money to the MCD than what should have been given. If you didn't have money, you should have requested for funds to the Delhi government in advance," claimed AAP MLA from Kondli Manoj Kumar.

East Delhi generates a large quantity of garbage with Ghazipur landfill site receiving on an average 2,500 tonnes of waste daily.