Patna, Nov. 29: In a move aimed at ensuring work efficiency, Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) is set to reshuffle many of its employees in the coming few days. Officials in the civic body said the proposal for the reshuffle has been prepared and is expected to be cleared by the municipal commissioner within a couple of days.

Pankaj Kumar Pal, the PMC commissioner, said this exercise has been followed for over a decade now. “Barring the commissioner and councillors, every employee in the corporation is a permanent entity and hence a sense of complacency has crept into them. The reshuffle move is aimed at bringing sense of responsibility among them,” said Pal.

Officials in the civic body said that the step would help improve the work culture in the corporation, as non-performing employees will be shunted to zones where day-to-day work pressure is lesser. “A file containing names of employees recommended for transfers has been prepared and is awaiting the commissioner’s approval. It will bring major changes in the system and will completely overhaul it,” said a senior PMC official.

According to the figures available with The Telegraph, at present there are 3,927 regular employees with the corporation, majority of whom prefer posting at PMC headquarters of planning and development division of the corporation. Of the total employees, 40 to 50 per cent will be transferred among various zones of the corporation.

Sources in the government agency said many files and projects gather dust because of the lackadaisical attitude of the officials and the employees. “Often, many files are misplaced, lost or tampered with and this has been happening so regularly that the PMC is now known for its non-performance rather than its work done in civic interest. This step by the new commissioner has given some hope that things might improve soon,” said a source.

Recently, the civic body had begun the process of re-assessing the holdings in the corporation area to raise revenue targets and collection. A total of 56 teams have been formed to assess the holdings in all four administrative circles — New Capi- tal Circle, Bankipore, Kankerbagh and Patna City— of the corporation.

The corporation is also serving notices on holding-owners after assessing their properties. All the teams, each comprising two tax collectors and a Grade IV employee, begun their work about two weeks ago.

Every team has to submit details of the annual rental value of at least 10 holdings every day. They have been asked to take to task commercial establishments, which have been paying taxes as residential buildings. The owners have been asked to pay the taxes within 21 days of getting the notices.

Officials said the move to revamp the database of holdings in the corporation area is aimed to improve the financial health of the corporation. Presently, the situation is so bad that the PMC cannot even pay salaries to its employees from its own resources. The increase in revenues through an exercise like this is the only way to lessen the burden, they added.