Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Sunday announced that the government has released Rs 119 crore to East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) after its employees went on strike for non-payment of salaries.Alleging the EDMC was wasting the money in corruption, he urged the EDMC to use the amount to pay the pending salaries of its employees."The EDMC received Rs 399 crore in 2012-2013, Rs 416 crore in 2013-2014 and Rs 441 crore in 2014-2015 from the Delhi government. We increased the amount to Rs 702 crore in 2015-2016 and have already released Rs 609 crore in this financial year (2016-2017).
"Despite this significant increase in the allocated funds, why are the employees not being paid the salaries. If they were managing in Rs 300-400 crore earlier, how is it possible that they are not able to manage in Rs 700 crore. Where is the money going?" asked Sisodia, who also holds the finance portfolio. More than 25,000 municipal employees of the East Delhi Municipal Corporation went on a strike on Thursday over non-payment of salaries, bringing the services to a standstill.This is the third continuous year, when the municipal workers have gone on a strike due to non-payment of salaries.