The government has asked Tata-led Air India to charge employees up to Rs 95,000 a month for overstaying in the airline's official accommodation at Vasant Vihar Colony in Delhi. This amount will be deducted from the employees' salaries, as per an Economic Times report.
The overstaying employees will have to incur deduction for salaries starting from the month of October. "Deductions are in the range of up to Rs 95,000 per month. Many employees will not even get a salary after this," an Air India (AI) employee residing in Vasant Vihar Colony said.
The residential colonies where AI employees are accommodated were not part of the government's disinvestment plans. These properties were subsequently moved to Air India Asset Holdings Limited along with other real estate assets. They are to be sold in order to pay off the government's debt worth Rs 60,000 crore.
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AI staff staying in these accommodations were asked to vacate the premises by July this year after the Tata Group took over AI. However, they have been seeking extension, and have even approached the judiciary, to have the vacation orders deferred.
So far, the Delhi High Court has heard challenges regarding this from 58 employees of the AI Engineering Service Limited (AIESL) who stay in AI's Vasant Vihar colony. Many of the employees staying in the colony have cited their childrens' education as one reason that makes it difficult to vacate the properties in the middle of the academic year.
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AI has two major housing colonies—in Mumbai and in Delhi. The employees staying in these colonies have also been threatened with penalties of Rs 10 and Rs 15 lakh, respectively, in case they fail to vacate the properties.
In October this year, there were allegations of water supply and other basic amenities being cut off from the residences to force the employees to vacate.
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