Unauthorised Absence: GWMC Mayor Gundu Sudharani warns evasive staff

Warangal: If anyone thinks the introduction of biometric attendance is a foolproof method of keeping tabs on officials who try to bunk their duties, they are wrong.

Still, there are ways to abstain from duty despite the biometric practice. The staff of Greater Warangal Municipal Corporation (GWMC) knows it well.

For a long time, it has been alleged, visitors have been facing difficult to get their issues resolved as officials are said to be absent at work.

Several officials are reportedly avoiding duty, informing on phone that they are working onsite. With no scrutiny, the officials have become habituated to attend to their duties at their will, it is learnt.

Mayor Gundu Sudharani who made a surprise visit to the administrative block on Saturday found this to her shock. She found quite a few officials missing when she visited the several wings of the urban local body (ULB).

As many as six officials were absent without any information to their higher-ups. Angered by this, she directed Additional Municipal Commissioner Ch Nageshwar to issue memos to those officials absent without prior information. When the Mayor enquired about the biometric attendance, the officials said that it was not working.

The Mayor then directed the officials to ensure the biometric attendance system was restored without any delay. She said that all the employees – permanent, outsourcing and temporary – need to register their attendance through the biometric system from Monday (August 23).