By IANS,
New Delhi : The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is moving to sack 25 percent of its errant safai karamcharis (sweepers) as “they have been drawing salaries sitting at home”, city Mayor Arti Mehra said Tuesday.
“The MCD will install 2,500 biometric machines to mark attendance in various zones (of the capital). From Jan 1 till February, the biometric machines will be installed and working. The sweepers who fail to mark attendance at specified times will be taken to task – their attendance will be reviewed over three months after which if they are found careless – we will sack them,” Mehra told IANS.
“We will be able to take bold steps against sweepers who have been drawing salaries sitting at home based on data collected from the machines,” Mehra added.
Mehra, who heads the Bharatiya Janata Party-run civic administration, declared at a conference on `Biomedical Waste Management’ earlier in the day that such a move could save the MCD a tidy sum.
“The MCD would save Rs.2.5 billion by sacking nearly 2,500 such karamcharis (sweepers),” Mehra said.
The MCD has gathered evidence in the past that many sweepers have not been reporting for duty.
“With data proof from the machines, the decision to sack them cannot be questioned even in court of law,” stressed Mehra.
“The decision to sack 25 percent of safai karamcharis once implemented would set a good precedent in the corporation for others not to escape their duties in future,” Mehra added.
The decision to bring in biometric machines was taken in September with the aim to digitise the Delhi administration ahead of the 2010 Commonwealth Games the city is set to host.
“These machines will be installed at each and every site office for facilitating e-governance and the sweeper will finger-in to mark his attendance,” Vijender Gupta, chairman of the standing committee of the civic agency said.