Akshay Azad
Early Times Report
Jammu, June 25: Though the latest direction of government has made biometric attendance compulsory (not Aadhar based) for all government employees, the reluctance shown by the heads of the departments, is ultimately making Aadhar mandatory for biometric attendance.
Moreover, the state government has no such software available which could provide options to employees to mark their biometric attendance rather than Aadhar cards.
Most of the government employees, who have been marking their attendance on JKattendance portal informed Early Times that on this portal there was no option of marking attendance rather than Aadhar. The front page of portal reads Aadhar based biometric attendance.
The Finance department on June 22 issued an order making biometric attendance compulsory. It is unambiguously directing that Aadhar was not mandatory for marking biometric attendance but there is no other option left for employees to mark their attendance other than Aadhar based, an employee said, adding that the IT department has no software for marking attendance rather than Aadhar.
Across the state, most of the department have installed only the Aadhar based biometric attendance system and they are not in any frame of mind to purchase new biometric attendance machines, in which Aadhar would not be mandatory.
"The Head of departments are seemingly reluctant to purchase the new machines but they are becoming very particular to implement the order of June 22. In the order it is also mentioned that salaries would not be released if biometric attendance would not be completed", the employee said, adding that in absence of other biometric attendance machines, Aadhar has been becoming mandatory for marking the attendance.
An official working in civil secretariat said that he had to wait for one hour to mark his attendance through Aadhar. "In Kashmir valley, time and again internet services are snapped, in such case, when there are no other options of marking biometric attendance rather than Aadhar, how the employee would get salary? Moreover in many far flung areas, there is no internet availability and how such employees would mark their attendance through Aadhar, which operates only through internet services", the employee said, adding that they asked their Head of Department to purchase new machine from the market, but he showed his reluctance and asked to mark attendance through Aadhar.
Secretary of Information and Technology department, Suagat Bishwas said that the HODs of all departments could purchase the biometric attendance machines from open market. "It is easily available and it is up-to the HODs to purchase these machines which could run without Aadhar", Bishwas said.
An official working in IT department said that if the HODs would be asked to keep check on the biometric attendance, then s/he could easily manipulate the attendance. "Ultimately the motive of making biometric attendance would be defeated", he said, adding that the state government must formulate a new software monitored centrally by IT department. |
