MARGAO
Director, Urban Development Gurudas Pilarnekar’s fiat to the urban local bodies to make biometrics mandatory for the purpose of attendance and not to release salaries of the employees without biometric data seemed to have gone abegging in the Margao Municipal Council.
For, the August 23, 2023 circular issued by the Director of Urban Development has not changed the ground reality in the Margao Municipal Council. Margao Municipal employees do not use the two biometric finger scan readers, including the face reader installed on the ground floor and the first floor of the heritage building.
Consider this. The MMC has stopped putting the two biometric finger scan readers to use post-Covid 19 pandemic. Biometric finger scan readers have been activated in most of the government departments, including the South Goa District Collectorate, but the Margao civic body seemed going slow in putting the finger scan readers to use for reasons best known to the Municipal administration.
Hopes were raised last month after the Director, Urban Development Gurudas Pilarnekar issued a circular to all the urban local bodies, including the Margao Municipal Council on August 23 to make biometrics mandatory for the purpose of attendance and implement the same with immediate effect.
The circular further stated, “Further, it may please be ensured that without biometric data, no salary is to be released to any employee and in case of non-compliance of these instructions the Chief Officers/ Commissioner will be held responsible.”
Sources in the know pointed out that the Margao Municipal Council was in receipt of the Urban Development Director’s circular last month. Sources in the Director, Urban Development’s office informed the circular was issued on August 23 so that the civic bodies implement the biometrics from September, but the diktat seemed to have gone abegging in the Margao civic body.
A visit to the Margao Municipal building has revealed that employees continue to follow the practice of signing the attendance roll every day in the administrative section, even though the civic body plays host to two biometrics devises in the building.
While the Urban Development director’s circular is a talking point in the corridors of the civic body, even employees wonder why Chairperson Damu Shirodkar as well as Chief Officer Gaurish Sankhwalkar has till date not issued directions to use the biometrics for attendance.
A senior MMC employee said use of biometrics coupled with the Closed Circuit TV cameras, can be an effective mechanism to enforce attendance of the employees. He, however, hastened to add there ought to be a political will to enforce the biometrics, with reports saying that certain employees report late for work and go home early. In fact, many say the Margao Municipal sections are found empty after 5 pm when employees start packing their bags to head home.
