Civil defence volunteers to be re-engaged to implement anti-pollution measures: Delhi CM

Delhi Chief Minister Atishi on Sunday announced that the deployment of 10,000 civil defence volunteers removed as bus marshals last year will begin in the next 2-4 days to assist various agencies fighting air pollution.

A detailed proposal for their permanent engagement will also be sent for approval of the Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena within a week, she said at a press conference here.

The announcements come a day after the LG wrote to Atishi, saying despite his order to immediately reappoint the civil defence volunteers (CDV), he was yet to receive a proposal in this regard.

"Of course, you and your party leaders may continue to do politics of taking credit for their reinstatement, but any more delay in the welfare of these economically weaker and helpless people is not right in any way," Saxena said in his letter.

Around 10,000 CDVs working as marshals in public buses in Delhi were removed from their posts in November last year after objections were raised by the revenue and finance departments.

At the press meet, the Delhi chief minister said that in a meeting last week, the CDVs were already assigned for implementation of various anti-pollution measures undertaken by different agencies.

"Their call out will begin in next 2-4 days," she said.

Atishi slammed the BJP, saying it should stop its "dirty politics" over the issue. She claimed the saffron party would make efforts to block the AAP government's proposal to the LG for the permanent engagement of CDVs.

She hit out at the BJP whose Delhi unit president Virendra Sachdeva warned that the party would 'gherao' the chief minister if a proposal for the re-appointment of bus marshals was not sent to the LG by Sunday evening.

"I want to ask the BJP leaders to stop their dirty politics on the bus marshal issue. First, their salaries were stopped in April last year and finally they were removed in October, 2023 due to BJP's conspiracy," she charged.

However, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders extended full support to the CDVs after their salaries were stopped and they were ultimately removed from their jobs, she claimed.