More than 100 out of 491 districts in Indonesia are saying that hefty civil servant payrolls are breaking the bank, the Home Affairs Ministry said.

"There are 124 districts who have informed us that they are unable to pay the PNS [civil servants]," Sadu Wasistiono, a staffer for the minister of home affairs, said on Tuesday. He declined to name the districts.

According to Sadu, the districts were now suffering from large budget deficits incurred by the expense of paying civil servant salaries. He said civil servant salaries were the single largest expenditure for many of the districts.

He explained that the problem was exacerbated by the regulation compelling regional governments to hire more civil servants every year, whether they were needed or not. "The regional governments have to recruit PNS every year even though they are not needed," he said.

In Central Java there are 11 districts which are suffering financial troubles stemming from buredensome civil servant payrolls. The districts are Blora, Pekalongan, Batang, Banjarnegara, Magelang, Purworejo, Kebumen, Klaten, Boyolali, Sragen and Karanganyar. An official with the Central Java municipal government, Sriyadhi, said the biggest deficit was suffered by Boyolali. The annual combined salary for civil servants in Boyolali is Rp 728.2 billion ($86 million) but the budget this year was only Rp 641.7 billion, Sriyadhi said.

Sadu, who is also a professor at the Institute of Public Administration (IPDN), said that many mayors or district heads recruit civil servants to fulfill campaign promises.

"During election season, they promised their voters that they would recruit PNS, so it's quid pro quo," he said, adding that the government would suggest a moratorium to stop regional civil servant hiring for the next two years.