The Municipal Corporation of Delhi has raised the monthly pay of about 4,000 public health workers to a minimum of Rs 18,000 plus dearness allowance, after changing their designation from Domestic Breeding Checker to Multi-Tasking Staff (Public Health). The revised salary has been credited directly to the workers’ bank accounts, according to the mayor and officials.
The announcement was made at an event at the MCD headquarters on Friday, where Chief Minister Rekha Gupta was present. The revised pay has been introduced under the principle of equal pay for equal work and is based on the minimum level of Pay Matrix Level 1, officials said.
The change will add an estimated Rs 52 crore a year to the MCD’s financial burden. The workers were originally recruited to support dengue prevention and have continued to perform public-health duties, including door-to-door inspections, according to MCD Commissioner Sanjeev Khirwar.
The employees were earlier identified as Domestic Breeding Checker staff, a designation linked to their role in checking mosquito-breeding sites and supporting dengue-control work. They have now been given the designation of Multi-Tasking Staff (Public Health), marking an administrative change alongside the salary revision.
Mayor Pravesh Wahi said the revised amount had already been transferred to the workers’ bank accounts. In addition to the minimum monthly salary of Rs 18,000, the employees will receive dearness allowance under the new arrangement.
The pay revision had been announced in the previous budget, the mayor said. Its implementation required approval from the chief minister. Wahi said he had informed Gupta about the proposal and its expected annual cost of Rs 52 crore before seeking approval.
According to the mayor’s account, Gupta approved the proposal without delay after being told about the financial implication and said the government had a responsibility to consider the welfare of its employees. The MCD has described the revision as part of efforts to address employee-related concerns.
The decision links the pay status of the workers to a public-health function that remains central to the city’s dengue-prevention efforts. Their continued door-to-door work places them at the operational end of the municipal response, while the salary revision changes the terms under which that work is recognised and compensated.
The immediate implementation milestone is the transfer of the revised salary to the workers’ bank accounts, with the new pay structure including the Level 1 minimum and dearness allowance. The MCD’s annual financial impact from the decision is estimated at Rs 52 crore.
