Claiming non-payment of salaries, teachers of schools run by the North and East Delhi civic bodies on Tuesday, November 9, urged Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal to direct the city government to release funds for the municipal corporations so that pending wages can be cleared.

In a letter to the Lt Gov, the Nagar Nigam Shikshak Sangh — an umbrella body of municipal school teachers — said that without salaries of September and October, school teachers of the two civic bodies are finding it hard to manage even basic expenses. Similar is the situation with retired teachers of municipal schools, the letter claimed. "Due to acute fund crunch in East and North MCD, teachers were not given salaries in September and October. They could not properly celebrate Diwali and other festivals. You (the L-G) are the supreme authority in Delhi. So please direct the Delhi government to release funds to the MCDs so that two months' salary can be paid to municipal teachers," said Ram Niwas Solanki, the General Secretary of the teachers' body, in the letter.

He also demanded that the North, East and South Delhi civic bodies be unified so that the financial crisis can be solved. The Confederation of MCD Employees Union also called all participant employees unions and office bearers for a meeting on November 11 over the issue of non-payment of salaries and pensions by the three civic bodies. Convenor of the Confederation of MCD Employees Union, AP Khan, said civic employees — be it teachers, engineers, nurses or sanitation workers — all are facing issues related to non-payment of salaries.

"Issues of pending salaries are yet to be resolved despite several communications. So, to discuss the future course of action and other strategies, we call upon all unions for the confederation's general body meeting on Thursday at 2 pm at the civic centre," Khan said.