May salary via smart watches: MC Chandigarh chief

Sandeep Rana

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 28

Over a year after introducing GPS watches to track 4,000 employees and spending over Rs 2.2 crore on the rent of these, MC Commissioner KK Yadav today said the salaries for May would be disbursed on the basis of “live location of the wrist watches”.

During an MC House meeting, Yadav directed officials to ensure that the live location status was available on the website of the MC so that residents could keep a check whether safai workers had come to their area. He said a grievance committee would be set up to look into complaints of employees regarding “faulty location” issues.

The watches were brought in to check on-field ghost employees, to mark their attendance in the field and to give them salaries on the basis of the watches. Many employees have been wearing these. The civic body has not given salaries through this technology to anyone so far. A monthly rent about Rs18 lakh is being paid to a private agency.

During the meeting, the MC chief said the May salaries would be disbursed on the basis of these watches. Interestingly, in May, the Commissioner will be completing his three-year tenure of deputation and will go back to his parent cadre Punjab.

“Once the Commissioner goes, the system will also go,” quipped an official.

During the House meeting, Yadav and councillor Arun Sood, who is also the city BJP chief, had arguments over the issue. Yadav wanted the system to continue, but Sood was against the watches, citing “faulty location and no utilisation”.

Yadav claimed that about 250 ghost employees were detected through the technology. Sood sought a list of such employees. Yadav said it would be provided to all councillors.

Earlier, a report of an MC panel was tabled in the House. In the report, councillors wanted to stop the system, while officers wanted it to continue.

Two-three deadlines were set earlier, but the MC failed to implement the system. In February last year, the civic body started distributing 4,000 watches among its employees to track them. A three-year contract was signed with a private company to provide the watches.