Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said all temporary employees of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) would be regularised.

Addressing an MCD programme at the Thyagaraj Stadium where he handed over appointment letters to 317 newly regularised employees, the chief minister said employees of Delhi's municipal corporation received salaries on the first date of the month "after 13 years".

"God is with us and with His blessings and the blessings of you all, I am optimistic that we will make MCD the best municipal corporation in the world," he asserted.

MCD employees are getting salaries on time for the last two months and the civic body's tax collection has also increased because it is being led by an "honest dispensation", Kejriwal said.

He said MCD employees and its officers will make Delhi the cleanest city in the country in the next two to three years. Mayor Shelly Oberoi and Urban Development Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj were also present at the event.

Delhi BJP leader Harsh Malhotra, meanwhile, claimed that between 2007 and 2012, as many as "7,500 employees were confirmed in the MCD" while 11,000 employees were confirmed in the 2012-17 period when his party was in power in the civic body.

He said, "Kejriwal is glorifying the regularisation of employees, but on the other hand he had also brought a proposal to hand over the MCD's sanitation work into private hands to remove sanitation staff. It was withdrawn after the BJP's opposition." Leader of Opposition in the MCD House, Raja Iqbal Singh said Kejriwal should tell people whether the huge amount spent on the event on Monday was paid for by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi or the Aam Aadmi Party.

At the event, Kejriwal said, "I met with all employees and everyone is extremely happy... We will also make sure that the remaining employees are made permanent. This is my guarantee. We will fulfil every promise." The chief minister said that before the civic elections, he had given the guarantee of making temporary MCD employees permanent and "I will fulfil it at any cost".

"It may take some time... but everyone will get their permanent appointment letters," he said, adding the MCD has now become "efficient" with "good governance" in place.

"It is the same MCD, same employees and same officials. So, what has changed? Only the dispensation has changed. An honest dispensation has now taken charge." Kejriwal said, "Now that tax evasion has been reduced since the corruption in MCD has been curbed, people have realised that their taxes are being utilised for the public good." When the AAP formed government in Delhi, it used to be in deficit. It took a year or two but now the government is in revenue surplus, the chief minister said.

"We have provided free electricity, water, free bus travel for women, constructed schools and hospitals, free pilgrimage and still the Delhi Government's budget is not in deficit. I want to assure you that with these same officials and the same employees, the same MCD will be self-sufficient within a year or two," he added.

People say that Indore is the cleanest city in the country. Within two to three years, "you will make Delhi the cleanest city", Kejriwal said.

The chief minister said an excellent cleanliness drive -- 'Ab Delhi Hogoi Saaf' -- is being run.

"The whole of Delhi will be cleaned. The mega cleanliness drive has been started and all employees, MLAs, councillors and officials are working on it. We will seek to increase people's participation gradually," Kejriwal said.

At the event in Thyagaraj Stadium, Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said, "In our society, we don't express our gratitude towards employees and officials." "Our councillors will start this custom of gratitude. I request the councillors to invite sanitation workers to their houses every month to express gratitude," he said.

Mayor Oberoi said "a better model" has also been initiated in the municipal corporation.

Under the mega cleanliness campaign, teams have been formed for all 250 wards. All councillors, MLAs, and officials are working to clean every corner of Delhi. Credit for this also goes to the sanitation workers, she said.

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