MC Plans Manpower Audit Amid Fiscal Crisis

Though the aim is to reduce staff strength & identify the 'unwanted' posts, laying off staff is likely to be a difficult process. MC OFFICIAL

- Mandeep Kaur Narula

CHANDIGARH: Amid an ongoing financial crunch, the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (MC) is planning to conduct a comprehensive manpower audit to rationalise its workforce and reduce the annual expenditure. It has consulted the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA), New Delhi, for the task.

The decision to conduct the audit follows a sharp increase in MC's annual expenses related to outsourced manpower, and civic body's inability to pay salaries to its staff amid the cash crunch. Punjab governor and UT administrator Gulab Chand Kataria had also directed MC officials and councillors to focus on improving the corporation's revenue generation by rationalising its manpower.

In discussion with the IIPA, the MC officials stated that the purpose of the audit is to determine if the staff strength can be optimised, identify the ghost employees as complained about by several city councillors, and conduct a financial check of salaries to detect any irregularities. Though the IIPA has already offered a fee of ₹25 lakh to conduct the audit over a period of six months, the Chandigarh civic body is yet to finalise the contract.