New Delhi: With their salaries pending for the past several months, staff of Delhi Waqf Board went on strike on Friday, with Imams and Muazzins of the mosques affiliated to the board threatening to protest outside the Chief Minister’s residence.
The Waqf Board employees, majority of them contractual, have not been paid their salaries for the past 3-4 months, said an employee of the board.
“We have already informed the Waqf Board authorities including the divisional commissioner about our problems but there is no development so far. The decision to go on strike was taken as a last resort,” said the employees preferring not to be named.
It was also claimed by the Imams and Muazzins of mosques maintained by the Waqf Board that they were also not paid their monthly wages for over five months.
“If Delhi government does not work out a solution, we will soon stage a protest outside the residence of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal,” said an Imam.
No immediate reaction was available from Waqf Board Chief Executive Officer Mohammad Rehan Raza.
Employees claimed that there salaries were lying pending because grant given to the board by the Delhi government has been stopped by the revenue department.
“The working of the board has been hampered because of the financial issues and there is no one to answer us. The Waqf Board chairman Amantullah Khan has stopped coming to the board office and officers are also not helping clear the mess,” complained the employees.
Khan said that the working of the board was in a “disarray” due to the ongoing investigations by different agencies, including ACB and Enforcement Directorate.
“I have not been able to go to the Waqf Board office in past weeks and therefore unaware about what officers are doing there,” Khan said.
The affairs of the Waqf Board have fallen in “disarray” with Khan facing probe under allegations of irregularities in appointments of employees during his earlier tenure.
Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena had last month granted permission to CBI to prosecute Khan in a case of illegal appointments registered by it in 2016.
In September, the Anti-Corruption branch had arrested Khan in connection with a case of corruption involving alleged misappropriation of Waqf Board funds.
The agency had also demanded removal of Khan from his post so that a proper investigation can be carried out against him.
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