A month after deciding to convert 2,888 outsourced posts into sanctioned positions, the municipal corporation (MC) has now backtracked on the plan, leaving thousands of employees staring at uncertainty yet again.
Municipal commissioner Amit Kumar, during a recent House meeting, announced that the plan to regularise the posts has been scrapped. “We have dropped the plan with regard to sending the proposal of sanctioning 2,888 posts to the UT administration. This should be resolved so that it can be confirmed in the minutes in May,” Kumar stated. The House then passed a revised proposal to formally shelve the initiative.
Kumar added, “Any decision regarding sanctioning of posts or manpower will be made only after a comprehensive manpower power audit, which will commence soon.”
This dramatic reversal comes just a month after the MC House had overwhelmingly approved the regularisation move aimed at stabilising its workforce and ensuring job security for outsourced staff who have been working on extended contracts for years. Initially hired for six months, many of these workers have served for long through repeated extensions.
In March, amid mounting concerns over the civic body’s financial health, officials had defended the plan, arguing that the sanctioned positions would cap unchecked hiring, offer job protection and save mass layoffs during future audits. They had added that the existing sanctioned posts have remained unchanged for years, despite the need for additional staff.
{{/usCountry}}In March, amid mounting concerns over the civic body’s financial health, officials had defended the plan, arguing that the sanctioned positions would cap unchecked hiring, offer job protection and save mass layoffs during future audits. They had added that the existing sanctioned posts have remained unchanged for years, despite the need for additional staff.
{{/usCountry}}The number of outsourced workers in the MC had surged from 3,072 in 2019-20 to 6,965 in 2024-25, an alarming 126% increase. The hiring was carried out without prior approval from the House, raising concerns over financial mismanagement.
Despite earlier protests over the MC’s reliance on contractual workers, councillors did not oppose the decision. Their stance contradicts Punjab governor and UT administrator Gulab Chand Kataria’s recent directives, urging workforce rationalisation and revenue generation.
It is pertinent to mention that the manpower audit, to be conducted by the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA), New Delhi, over a six-month duration, is expected to begin soon for examining staffing patterns, identifying fake employees and flagging salary irregularities.