MARGAO
It’s now two months since Urban Development Director Gurudas Pilarnekar issued a circular, mandating urban local bodies to implement biometrics for employee attendance with immediate effect.
The circular, dated August 23, 2023, directed the chief officers of civic bodies to ensure that no salary is released to employees without biometric data.
The circular even warned the chief officers in case of non-compliance.
If one goes by the order, the biometrics should have been operational in the Margao civic body by September 1. Sadly, neither the finger scan has been operational in September and October, nor does the ground reality suggest that it will be revived in November.
Contrary to the directive stating that no biometrics data means no salary, MMC employees receive their salaries on time every month.
When The Goan questioned the Chief Officer a month ago about why the department’s circular is not being implemented in the Margao municipality, Chief Officer Gaurish Sankhwalkar then stated that the office had been in touch with the NIC to revive the biometrics in the civic body.
Sankhwalkar even assured that the biometrics would be in force from November 1, mandating employees to record their attendance using the finger scan.
A visit to the Margao municipal building on Monday revealed that the defunct finger scan reader still has not been repaired. None of the employees could be seen registering their attendance on the biometric finger scan reader.
Inquiries revealed that the system has not been revived to facilitate employee attendance records.
When contacted, Chief Officer Sankhwalkar pointed out that due to other matters preoccupying his office, the system could not be revived. He, however, mentioned that the NIC has been instructed to get the system in place.
When questioned about whether the biometric system will be put in place at least in the New Year, the Chief Officer said efforts would be made to revive the system at the earliest.
The biometric finger scan reader was revived by ex-Municipal Chairperson Lyndon Pereira post-COVID pandemic, with both a finger scan reader and a face reader in place.
How the system was grounded remains unclear, but it’s interesting to note that the biometrics have not been revived by the civic body even after the directive from the Director of Urban Development.
