Biswabrata Goswami
KRISHNAGAR, 8 JAN: Drawing a clear line between fiscal survival and political discomfort, Trinamul Congress MP Mahua Moitra on Tuesday openly defended the large-scale retrenchment of contractual workers at the Krishnagar municipality, stating that the move was taken with the consent of the party and the government, and was unavoidable to pull the civic body out of bankruptcy.
Addressing a press conference at the Nadia zilla parishad conference hall, Ms Moitra described the municipality as “completely bankrupt” and asserted that the controversial retrenchment drive was already yielding tangible financial relief. “At present, we have 971 employees. Because of this correction, we are saving Rs 3.20 crore annually. I hope this will help us restore normal civic services,” she said.
Her remarks came amid sustained protests by retrenched workers, who have been staging demonstrations outside the municipal gate since 1 January, demanding reinstatement. More than 350 contractual workers have been laid off in two phases since the municipality began identifying so-called ‘ghost workers’ amid a deepening financial crisis.
In the first phase, 106 contractual workers were removed, followed by nearly 250 more in the second phase, triggering political ripples in this Trinamul-run municipality, once considered among the more prosperous urban bodies in the state.
Bluntly laying out the numbers, Ms Moitra said the municipality had been pushed to the brink by an unsustainable salary burden. “For 671 contractual workers and another 59 non-EPF contractual staff — a total of 730 — the municipality was paying Rs 71 lakh every month. Earlier, the total staff strength was 1,356. In contrast, salaries for 291 permanent employees amount to Rs 25 lakh, while pension liabilities alone stand at Rs 40 lakh,” she said. “Under such circumstances, there was no alternative but retrenchment.”
She argued that the staff strength had far exceeded civic requirements. “For a town with 25 wards and a population of around two lakh, about 900 to 930 employees are sufficient. With the present strength, we should be able to provide better services,” the MP added.
Importantly, Ms Moitra also hinted that accountability may not stop with retrenchment. Responding to a pointed question on whether action would be taken against those responsible for pushing the municipality into financial ruin, she indicated that the party and the government were not ruling out disciplinary steps. “The government can take action at any time,” she said, stopping short of naming individuals.
To underline her point, she cited the present administrative arrangement at the municipality. “You can see for yourself — a sub-divisional officer is now sitting in a chair that once belonged to an elected body. If the government was not taking action, things would have continued exactly as before,” she remarked, in an apparent reference to the supersession of the elected board.
The Krishnagar municipality has been under administrative control since SDO Sharadwati Chowdhury took charge as administrator about a month ago. Once regarded as a growing urban centre, the civic body had descended into paralysis due to intense factionalism within the ruling party, severely affecting civic services and angering residents.
Ms Chowdhury has since initiated a series of corrective measures, including efforts to overhaul what officials describe as a deeply flawed “work culture” within the municipality. However, the crisis has been compounded by poor revenue collection over the past ten months, leaving the civic exchequer depleted and making it increasingly difficult to even disburse salaries on time.
It was against this backdrop that the administrator initiated the retrenchment process — a move that has sparked debate across the town. While critics accuse the administration of targeting the weakest employees, the leadership maintains that financial realism must take precedence over populism.
As protests continue on the streets, Ms Moitra’s forthright defence has effectively signalled that the party is standing firmly behind the administrator’s decision — and that the era of unchecked appointments at Krishnagar municipality may finally be coming to an end.
