The Union Urban Development and Housing and Poverty Alleviation Minister wants to install a biometric system for attendance within a month.
Union Urban Development and Housing and Poverty Alleviation Minister, M. Venkaiah Naidu has cracked the whip on late-comers. After finding as many as 100 employees late for work on Monday during a surprise inspection, the Minister has asked both Ministries to install a biometric system for attendance within a month.
The annoyed Minister has also asked all Joint Secretary level officials to carry out an inspection everyday and report the absentees list to the Secretaries of each Ministry. Employees who turn up after 9.15 a.m. will have their one day’s pay docked and required to submit an explanation for being late.
On June 12, after assumed office, Mr. Naidu carried out an inspection of the Ministries and asked all his staff to report to work by 9 a.m., but a second surprise visit revealed that the orders are not being followed with the Central Public Works Department being the worst offenders.
“The Minister was happy that the cleaning up has been done and there are no dangling wires and old furniture stacked in the corridors, but he was unhappy with the absence of the staff. He has sought a report from the departmental heads and a list of habitual latecomers,” said a senior official of the Ministry.
The Director General of CPWD has also been asked to submit a report on the absentees in his department. “The worst attendance was in the departments of e-governance and architecture, so the Minister has asked for an explanation from the DG over the absent employees,” the official said.
Soon after he took over Prime Minister, Narendra Modi issued a diktat to the Ministries to clean up their premises and get rid of old files and unusable furniture. There was also a crackdown on absenteeism and prolonged lunch breaks. There was speculation that the work week would be extended by a day, after the PM asked the Ministers to set a 100-day agenda. Even though the offices still work for five days a week, there are several departments where officials are called in for meetings on a Saturday as well.
