Patna, June 24: Senior administrative officials of Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) have decided to stop the salaries of the employees in the law and establishment section of the civic body for their alleged failure to clear the files of Assured Career Promotion (ACP) beneficiaries. The move has affected about 20 employees in the department.

Sources said the employees in the law and establishment section had been asked to clear the files of about 1,700 corporation employees within June but only 200 of them have been cleared so far and there is less than a week left in the month.

“Their pace of work has been extremely slow and they have failed to clear the files within a stipulated timeframe. This delay prompted the commissioner to issue orders to stop their salaries. However, the matter is still under consideration after a group of representatives met the commissioner yesterday and told him that the delay happened because of high work pressure,” said N.C. Jha, the additional PMC commissioner (law and establishment).

Meanwhile, the agitating employees whose salaries have been stopped said it was insensitive and irrational on the part of authorities. “There are only five to six employees in the PMC headquarters while the rest are deputed in four circles of the corporation. Twenty of us are expected to perform the job of 50 people as a result of which we are overburdened. On top of it, as a couple of assignments got delayed, our salaries are stopped. This is highly unfair,” said an employee.

Earlier this month, PMC employees had called for a strike starting June 16 but later withdrew the strike call after senior officials of the civic body agreed to fulfil some of the key demands including clearance of the benefits.