Biometric attendance introduced in Koraput block offices

Koraput: In a bid to check absenteeism of officials, the administration in Koraput district has introduced biometric attendance in all 14 block offices of the district.

The system, introduced from September 1, would not allow attendance fraud. It works on the basis of fingerprints of employees whose names are registered in the database. The employee has to tocuh his or her finger on the finger scaner machine, which will match it with the name from the databse and register presence, officials said.

"Block officials take unauthorised leave of absence from their workplace. This affects work and causes huge monetary losses to the state. The system will ensure that block staff are regular and reach office on time", said Koraput Collector Jaya Kumar V.

"In the next phase, we plan to introduce this system at all tehsil offices in the district", he added.

The administration is hopeful that the system will be helpful in checking absenteeism of block officials in Maoist-hit and remote blocks like Narayanpatna, Bandhugaon, Lamatapur, Boipariguda and Nandapur.

According to officials, each month, the attendance statement will be taken out and employees who take unauthorised leave will be taken to task.

"The biometric attendance system is transparent. It will curb absenteeism and officials shirking work during office hours", said Rameshwar Pradhan, block development officer of Nandapur.

However, some officials are not in favour of the move. "In our line of work, we are needed to be in the field most of the time and having such a system may not be practical for employees at all levels", said a junior engineer of Dasmantpur block.