Shimla, Aug 25 (PTI): Attendance of officers and employees is not being recorded via biometric machines or online in 18 government departments and boards, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Tuesday.

In a written reply to a question by BJP MLA Lokendra Kumar, Sukhu told the Assembly that the primary reasons for this include the nature of field duties, a lack of internet and network connectivity in the remote areas, power supply issues, and the unavailability of biometric machines in many offices.

The 18 departments and boards include election, agriculture, home, horticulture, housing, Jal Shakti, language, art & culture, public works, ex-servicemen welfare, tourism, tribal development, social justice & empowerment, finance, forest, general administration, AYUSH, rural development, and revenue.

“Field staff in these departments face various challenges. In many instances, it is not practical for an employee deployed in the field to travel to an office solely to mark biometric attendance,” he said.

Also, online attendance cannot be recorded in remote areas due to the unavailability of internet and mobile networks, a lack of connectivity, and technical issues, he said.

Sukhu also said that biometric machines have not been installed in various block-level offices falling under the district offices of the cooperation department, where employee attendance is recorded in attendance registers.

Biometric machines have also not been installed in certain subordinate district-level and divisional offices, as well as fish farms under the fisheries department. Consequently, the daily attendance of employees there is not being recorded via biometric systems, Sukhu said.

The chief minister noted that the attendance of police personnel on field duty is not being recorded via biometric machines or online methods.

According to the chief minister, field staff in the home and fire services departments work in 24-hour shifts, and they may be required to rush to the scene of an incident at any time.

Under these circumstances, it is not feasible for them to remain present in the office during designated hours to mark biometric attendance.

The government has identified this as a practical challenge in implementing the biometric attendance system for field staff.

In compliance with the high court’s orders, the state government issued directives on November 18, 2022, to implement the biometric attendance system across all departments, boards, corporations and universities.

Sukhu also said if a government employee is duly instructed by the competent authority to perform duty outside of standard office hours, there is a provision to grant compensatory leave in lieu of such additional duty. PTI BPL ARI

(This story is published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. No editing has been done in the headline or the body by ABP Live.)