Bhubaneswar: In a significant move towards ensuring punctuality and accountability at the government of offices, the state government has directed all the departments to install biometric attendance systems where they are yet to be installed.
According to sources, the departments with existing systems were asked to ensure
their devices are fully functional and linked to Biometric Attendance System Portal developed by National Informatics Centre (NIC).
The biometric data will be monitored and analysed fortnightly by designated officers to curb late arrivals and absenteeism.
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This directive comes as part of the government’s strong emphasis on punctuality, which it considers a vital component of good governance.
The General Administration and Public Grievances (GA&PG) department has issued instructions for all state government employees, from the junior-most staff to the highest office, to adhere strictly to prescribed office timings.
Employees are required to record both their ‘Office In’ and ‘Office Out’ times daily using the biometric devices.
Failure to record ‘Office Out’ may be treated as absence for that day.
In office where attendance is maintained on a roster basis, the reporting times mentioned in official orders shall be treated as the prescribed time.
The government has allowed a grace period of up to 30 minutes of delay for a maximum of three days in a calendar month, condonable by the Head of Office.
However, beyond this, for every subsequent three days of late attendance, an employee will face deduction of one day’s Casual Leave (CL).
Employees who work extended hours or during public holidays will be exempted from penalties upon proper approval.
To ensure a minimum standard of work hours, every employee is expected to attend office for at least 7 and half-an-hours a day, except on days designated for morning-only business.
Employees engaged in official tours or work outside office premises, with due authorisation, will not be penalised for non-recording of attendance.
However, staffers serving at Secretariat of the Governor, and office of the Chief Minister and ministers, are exempted from these rules.
Looking ahead, the government plans to pilot the use of AI-based cameras and RFID identity cards to capture attendance data.
This new sys- tem will be launched initially at Lok Seva Bhavan and Kharavel Bhavan, with plans for ex- pension across all government offices in the state.
PNN