Staffing Shortage Hits Key Services as 7,336 Posts Vacant in Pune Municipal Corporation
Pune, 5th June 2025: The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is grappling with a massive staffing shortfall, with 7,336 posts lying vacant across departments, severely impacting the civic body’s operations and service delivery. Officials from the General Administration Department attribute the crisis to a spike in retirements and a slowdown in recruitment over recent years.
The problem has been exacerbated by the inclusion of 32 newly merged villages, making PMC the largest municipal area in Maharashtra. However, this expansion has not been matched with proportional staff augmentation. Of the 16,369 sanctioned posts (from Class I to Class IV), only 9,033 are currently filled, leaving over 44% of positions vacant. The highest number of vacancies are in the Class III and Class IV categories, which include frontline service providers.
The last major recruitment drive was held in 2023, but follow-up hiring stalled. Although applications were invited for engineering posts last year, the process was put on hold due to complications regarding reservation policies.
“The recruitment process for junior engineers has been submitted to the Municipal Commissioner and will proceed once approved,” said Prasad Katkar, Deputy Commissioner, General Administration, PMC.
Employment for Heirs of Sanitation Workers
In a key development, the Bombay High Court’s Aurangabad Bench has directed that the heirs of PMC employees eligible for the hardship (sanitation) allowance be considered for employment. In response, PMC has received over 300 proposals, currently under review.
Operational Challenges Mount
The staffing crisis has significantly burdened existing employees and raised concerns about PMC’s ability to efficiently manage urban services such as waste collection, water supply, public health, and infrastructure maintenance.
Civic groups and employee unions are urging the administration to fast-track recruitment and ensure that public services do not deteriorate further in the face of rapid urban growth.
