No attendance record of 90 civic officials

RTI query reveals in spite of biometric system, PMC clueless where several of its officers spending time during work hours

Even though it has been over a year since the installation of the biometric attendance system at the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), the civic body has failed to keep track of several of its officers on duty.


Missing in action: There is no provision in the PMC to keep track of its
officers' whereabouts. File Pic

A PMC reply to an application filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act by activists V R Jain and D B Vahikar revealed that almost 90 officers do not log their attendance but still draw their salary every month.

"The PMC information officer has revealed that there is no provision for signing an attendance register at the Garden Department," Jain said. "The officer also replied that there is no provision for the senior officials to fill up the attendance sheet."

Jain and Vahikar had initially raised the attendance issue against Balasaheb Jhagzap, a tree officer from the Garden Department of the PMC. But they realised that it was applicable to at least 90 officials in the PMC.

Subhash Jagtap from the PMC house expressed his shock at the RTI revelations. "It is strange that there is no such provision for keeping a specific record of attendance for the senior officials. We will raise this issue with the Municipal Commissioner," he said. "Even if some of the officers are on official tours, there should be some record of their whereabouts."

Aaba Bagul, who is also from the PMC house, said he was surprised by the information. "We should know where the officer is and when he shall be back on his seat. There should be a system to check the whereabouts of these 'missing' officers," he said.

The Other Side
Kundalik Karkar, Deputy Commissioner (HR), refuted the charges. Karkar said the PMC has a biometric attendance system and it is compulsory for everybody, including the senior officials in the civic body. "Though the system has been installed in the main building, we are also planning to widen its application to all the 14 ward offices, sewage treatment plants (STP), biogas plants and solid waste management places. The person who goes out for a tour has to inform in advance and the attendance is recorded accordingly," Karkar said.