NEW DELHI: Civic body staffers who skip their work or take leaves at their whim are likely to have a difficult season ahead as the unified Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has issued an order warning employees against going absent from office without prior permission. Moreover, the employees will have to download an app which will mark their attendance in the office.
“In order to ensure public services are delivered timely without delay, it is directed that henceforth all officers/officials shall be present in the office from 9 am sharp,” the order issued by deputy commissioner (DC), Civil Lines zone, on May 26 stated. The order further said that in case any employee is found absent without prior permission, one day’s salary shall be deducted from his/her account. “Further, if any employee is found absent on three occasions, the said defaulting officer/official will be suspended immediately and necessary action shall be initiated against him/her,” the order read.
According to civic officials, the order issued is just to “reiterate” the ground rules that already exist. Since the integration process of the erstwhile corporations is going on and new heads have been appointed for each department, the order issued is to “instill a sense of discipline” across the workforce.
The order also states that all office employees shall mark their attendance in the National Informatics Centre (NIC) (MCD) smart app, which can be downloaded online. “The attendance record in this app shall be taken as the single source of truth for verifying the presence of employees in office. Hence all officials are directed to download the app,” it said. The move comes close to a similar strategy being followed to address the lapses being noticed across municipal schools. This newspaper had on Friday reported that senior officials are carrying out regular inspections of schools and issued showcause notices.