"Legal objections were raised by some officers": AAP govt on termination of services of civil defence volunteers

New Delhi [India], October 28 : Defending the AAP government's decision to terminate the services of all civil defence volunteers, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal blamed legal objections raised by some officers that led to the termination of volunteers from November 1.
He said if they had to be replaced with home guards as bus marshals, it would take time because the government does not have an adequate number of spare home guards, the government said in an official statement on Friday.
"Legal objections were raised by some officers that as per law, civil defence volunteers cannot be appointed on regular jobs and that they can be called only for specific disaster-related work," the release said.
The statement added that despite several written directions by ministers, "their salaries were stopped for several months."
"That's when the CM said that all pending salaries be paid and if they have to be stopped from doing regular work, it may be implemented from November 1. However, this note of CM did not cover bus marshals for which CM sent a separate note to LG," it added.
This came after Delhi LG VK Saxena approved the proposal of Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal to terminate the services of all existing Civil Defence Volunteers, an official statement said on Friday.
However, approving the proposal to end the CDVs' illegal recruitment and deployment, LG Saxena has raised serious livelihood concerns about these employees.
"LG directed the Chief Minister that the CDVs who lose their job in the process should be considered for appointment as Home Guards, about 10,000 positions of whom, the LG has approved recently," an official statement said.
The termination of services will come into effect from November 1.
"New recruitments will have to be made which will take a lot of time," CM Kejriwal was quoted as saying in the statement.
"Bus marshals are very critical for women's safety in buses," it added.
It further said that CM Kejriwal wrote to LG that till an adequate number of home guards are deployed, the civil defence volunteers should continue working as bus marshals. "We should not let buses run without bus marshals in the intervening period".
As per the statement, CM gave directions on Friday that when new recruitments for home guards are done, "the existing set of civil defence volunteers may be engaged as home guards so that they continue doing the job of bus marshals".
"They are experienced in that job and have been doing it well. This way, they won't lose jobs also," CM said, as per the statement.