MMC CO plays cat and mouse game!
HERALD REPORTER
MARGAO, NOV 29
Can incumbent Margao Municipal Chief Officer Prasanna Acharya bring about punctuality amongst the civic employees sans implementing the bio-metric finger scan reader?
Acharya on Monday literally played a cat and mouse game, trying to find out the number of employees reporting late for duty. In fact, the Chief Officer made his physical presence in the various municipal sections to personally find out the attendance of the employees.
And, at the end of the day, the Chief Officer issued an office circular directing all the employees to sign their muster rolls in the technical section as against the current practice of signing the rolls before the sectional heads.
The latest move is attributed to the fact that the Municipal employees have not been punctual in reporting for duty. In fact, the Chief Officer has warned in his office circular that employees playing truant will have to face the whip by way of disciplinary action from the administration.
Whether the latest exercise will help keep a close track on the employees or not, only time will tell. But, the fact remains that the bio-metric finger scan reader installed at the entrance to the Civic body over two years ago is not put to use following strong objections from the Employees Union.
That’s not all. The promised Closed Circuit TVs to bring the employees under the scanner has also failed to materialize till date, with neither the civic body nor the government chipping in the funds to install the CCTVs.
The bio-metric finger scan reader was introduced in the civic body during the tenure of then chairperson Johnson Fernandes. The facility, however, was abandoned by the civic body days after its implementation due to strong protests from the employees under the banner of Goa Municipal Employees Association.
The bio-metric scan was again revived when Savio Coutinho took over the reigns of office, only to be grounded again after the employees took up the issue with Chief Minister, Digambar Kamat.
