New Delhi: As civic polls approach, DBC workers continue to suffer while the Aam Aadmi Party and the BJP lead a contentious fight to see who champions their causes first. DBC workers across the three MCDs; North, South and East have been on an indefinite strike since February 21 outside the Civic Centre, demanding regularisation of their posts, increase in salaries and better benefits.
The three civic bodies employ approximately 3,500 DBC workers who are responsible for keeping the rise of vector-borne diseases in control in the capital. Despite this, there are no permanent posts for these workers that are subjected to harsh conditions, old fogging machines and extensive physical labour.
As per MCD officials, they started hiring DBC workers on a semi-permanent basis 26 years ago as the capital was witnessing a surge in vector-borne diseases after receiving orders from the Delhi Government and no official posts were created for these workers. Since then, DBC workers have not seen any change in their conditions.
Rajesh Dhiran, 50, who has served in the MCD as a DBC worker for 26 years now, said they receive no benefits or security from the civic body or the Delhi government. "We toil hard every day, lugging heavy machinery but the MCD has never given us any benefits, in fact, they often delay our salaries and ignore our demands."
He added that in the last two years, DBC workers have not been provided masks and they have lost many colleagues, whose families have not received any compensation to date. Another worker who was part of the strike, working for 15 years, said, "We have been sitting outside the civic centre for almost two weeks now, we see the Mayors, Chairmans and other leaders' cars pass by us everyday but no BJP leaders have visited to discuss our demands. AAP leaders come to see our condition, to showcase support but do not help in any other ways"
While leaders from the South MCD have claimed that they have been sending files for regularisation of these workers to the Delhi government and have received no response, Aam Aadmi Party leaders in the MCDs have said there is no proof that the MCD has sent these files.
MCD officials claimed the latest files were sent to the Delhi government in January.
South MCD Standing Committee Chairman Col BK Oberoi said that currently, there is no official nomenclature for DBC workers in the books and that the Delhi government needs to clear the way for this.
With polls coming up, AAP's MCD leaders have consistently brought this issue up in House and Standing Committee Sessions - asking for a record of representations sent to the Delhi government but have always been shut down without a response.
And amid this tussle between the MCDs and the Delhi government, the East MCD has now threatened DBC workers of withholding salaries until they get back to work.
President of Anti Malaria Ekta Karmchari Union Devanand Sharma said, "We have discussed the matter with all three MCDs multiple times as well as the Delhi government but there has been no change, they (AAP and BJP) have made our cause a football game wherein the keep passing the blame on each other but only we end up suffering."