Chandigarh, June 4 -- Rising above party lines, councillors from all political parties opposed the municipal corporation's (MC) move to lay off staff and demanded that 664 tubewell operators should not be rendered jobless during the monthly House meeting held on Tuesday.

Last month, in a major cost-cutting move triggered by a deepening fiscal crisis, the municipal corporation had decided not to renew the contracts of 332 outsourced multi-task workers employed at tubewells across the city. This decision followed an internal assessment conducted by the engineering department. However, in the House meeting held on Tuesday, the MC decided revised the move and terminate 100% of its existing tubewell staff. The MC operates 130 tubewells and 34...