Chandigarh: MC orders manpower audit to cut cost amid financial crisis
The six-month audit in the Chandigarh municipal corporation aims to optimise staff, detect salary irregularities and identify fake employees
The Chandigarh municipal corporation (MC) has given approval to the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA), New Delhi, to conduct a comprehensive manpower audit over the next six months to rationalise its workforce and cut down annual expenses.
Civic body officials said the decision comes amid mounting financial stress, a sharp rise in outsourced hiring, and concerns over ghost employees. The audit is expected to streamline staff strength, detect irregularities in salary payments and address allegations of fake employees, as raised by multiple city councillors.
The MC will sign a detailed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with IIPA soon, finalising terms for the audit. The ₹25 lakh audit will analyse whether the current staff strength of 9,748 is justified and pinpoint unnecessary or duplicate hires.
Officials admitted that laying off staff could be a contentious process, but the cash-strapped MC has little choice. “Due to continuous objections over the recruitment of contractual staff, the audit’s prime motive is to reduce staff strength and identify unwanted posts,” said an official.
The decision comes in response to a surge in hiring, which worsened the financial burden on the MC. As per figures presented in the MC’s general house meeting on November 23 last year, the total staff strength rose from 8,587 in 2023-24 to 9,748 in 2024-25, marking an increase of 1,161 employees, most of them hired on a contractual basis.
This increase has strained MC’s budget, leading to salary payment delays and a halt in development projects across the city. In May 2024, the ongoing fiscal crisis forced the MC to stop all infrastructure work.
As per official data, the MC spent ₹493 crore till September 2024, with ₹145 crore allocated for regular staff salaries and ₹147 crore for contractual staff salaries — the latter exceeding payments to regular employees. With monthly liabilities of ₹75 crore, ₹42 crore goes towards salaries alone, adding to the financial strain.
Punjab governor and UT administrator Gulab Chand Kataria had earlier directed MC officials and councillors to focus on revenue generation and workforce rationalisation. He questioned why hundreds of contractual workers were hired while regular posts remained vacant and why MC’s spending on contractual staff had surpassed its budget for permanent employees.
The former mayor Kuldeep Kumar Dhalor also raised concerns over the sudden spike in employee numbers, asking, “Who are these employees, and where are they working?”
The MC has already taken measures to control workforce expansion. In December 2024, it terminated outsourced employees aged 60 and above with immediate effect. Additionally, no new hiring or replacements can be made without the commissioner’s prior approval.
