Mumbai, May 7: Around 1,500 contract employees appointed by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) have not received their salaries for the past two to three months due to delays in the release of funds under the National Urban Health Mission (NUHM).
The affected workers include staff employed in BMC health posts, the tuberculosis (TB) department, and “Dilaasa” centres operating in civic hospitals. The Dilaasa centres provide counselling, support and guidance to victims of domestic violence and sexual harassment.
According to officials, these employees were hired through private agencies, and their salaries are paid through NUHM funds allocated by the state health department. However, the BMC has reportedly not received the required funds since December, resulting in delayed payments.
Workers face financial distress
Employees say the situation has pushed them into financial distress. One worker, speaking anonymously, said salaries for March and April are still pending.
“We have to manage loan repayments, house rent, children’s school fees and daily expenses without any salary,” the employee said.
A staff member from the TB department claimed that several workers have not been paid for nearly three months and are surviving by borrowing money from relatives and friends.
A senior civic official confirmed that payments to contracting agencies have been stalled because funds from the health department have not yet been released.
State awaits release of funds
Meanwhile, a senior official from the state health department said NUHM is a centrally sponsored scheme in which the Central Government contributes 60 per cent of the funds and the State Government contributes the remaining 40 per cent.
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The official stated that the Centre approved the grant last week, while the Maharashtra government's Government Resolution (GR) is expected within a week. Once the GR is issued, the state health department will transfer the funds to municipal corporations, enabling pending salaries to be cleared.
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