Lieutenant Governor (L-G) VK Saxena has urged the AAP government to urgently address the issue of pending salaries for employees of the Delhi Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, Minorities, Safai Karamcharis, and Handicapped Financial and Development Corporation (DSFDC).
The L-G advised the government to revive the once-flourishing corporation, now described as “defunct due to sheer neglect and apathy” over the last 10 years, according to a statement from the L-G’s office on Saturday.
A delegation of DSFDC employees recently met the L-G to share their grievances, highlighting that their salaries had been unpaid for the past nine months.
The employees also informed the LG about a tragic incident where one employee committed suicide on campus due to financial stress, while many others were enduring mental trauma stemming from ongoing uncertainty and financial insecurity.
The L-G’s office noted that the DSFDC, which was once a critical source of support for marginalized communities such as Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, OBCs, Minorities, Safai Karamcharis, and persons with disabilities, has become defunct due to what was described as the “utter neglect” of the AAP government over the last decade.
Previously, DSFDC provided financial assistance to entrepreneurs and self-employed individuals from marginalized groups, but it has now been reduced to using its dwindling corpus to pay employee salaries, which have also become overdue.
Established in 1983, DSFDC was highly successful in implementing programs such as formulating economic development schemes, mobilizing institutional credit and educational loans, and supporting self-employment initiatives for Safai Karamcharis. It also maintained work sheds, ran training programs, and operated a footwear design center, among other initiatives.
Under the Sheila Dikshit government, DSFDC’s success led to its relocation to a modern office building in West Delhi. However, its decline over the past decade has severely impacted its role as a support system for marginalized communities.