106 workers removed as ghost staff purge begins in Krishnagar municipality
The Statesman | 5 December 2025
In a drastic and long-anticipated clean-up drive, the Krishnagar municipality has initiated a sweeping purge of “ghost workers”, laying off 106 contractual staff in the first phase of what officials describe as a decisive attempt to restore administrative integrity and financial stability. The action, seen as the toughest step taken in years, has triggered intense discussion across the town and raised uncomfortable questions for political quarters long accused of shielding such anomalies.
The over 150-year-old municipality, once counted among Bengal’s prominent civic bodies, has for years struggled with chronic drainage problems, infrastructural stagnation and crumbling municipal services. Although governed by the Trinamul Congress, deep factional divisions paralysed decision-making, resulting in growing public resentment.
The deadlock began to shift in late October when Sadar Sub-Divisional Officer Sharadwati Chowdhury assumed charge as the municipal administrator. Since then, she has pushed for a radical overhaul of the institution’s work culture—reaching the office at 10.30 a.m. sharp, working late into the evenings, speaking directly with sanitation workers and clerical staff, and combing through accounts and attendance registers personally.
It was during one such routine file review last week that she reportedly remarked, almost incredulously: “You claim there are so many staff—then where are they working?” In a subsequent meeting with union leaders and labour representatives, she posed the stark question: “Only 350 are working. Where are the rest? We must make this city clean—and fast.”
The remark created ripples across Krishnagar, and within days, verification began. On Monday, the administration formally struck off 106 names from the roster—10 from trade licence and tax collection and 96 sanitation workers—after determining that these contractual labourers had no record of regular duty.
Municipal sources indicate the process will continue, suggesting that more irregularities may surface.
For years, allegations of “ghost workers”—persons drawing salaries without performing any civic duty—have circulated in Krishnagar. Residents have repeatedly questioned who controlled these workers, which leaders protected them, and why successive boards failed to address the drain on public funds. The present clean-up, they say, must be accompanied by a thorough investigation into how the system was allowed to rot.
The municipality’s financial distress has worsened over the past ten months, with revenue collection falling sharply. Staff salaries were reportedly being paid out of savings, a situation officials describe as unsustainable.
To arrest the slide, administrator Ms Chowdhury on 27 November issued an order cancelling extra pay for holidays—insisting that only actual work will now be compensated. The order cites a 13 August 2019 directive from the state’s UD&MA Department, clearly stating that no staff may be hired without departmental approval. Yet, Krishnagar municipality had continued to engage daily-rated workers without authorisation, creating an inflated workforce and an untenable salary burden.
Explaining the layoffs, Ms Chowdhury said: “Revenue has not come in as expected for ten months. The financial condition is extremely poor. We do not need excess workers, and the recruitment process itself was improper. We are trying to restore balance by reducing unnecessary staff and increasing revenue.”