The status of biometric attendance in the offices of J&K UT is still unsure as the practice was discontinued after the inception of COVID-19 virus in the year 2020. As the reports are citing that the practice has been restored in places like Delhi including the Rajya Sabha Secretariat, the UT administration in J&K should also consider the same as the pandemic has been subsided and there are no more mandatory precautions continuing in the Union Territory. The introduction of Biometric Attendance has hit hard the employees habitual of playing truancy as they were bound to enter in the office premises before the stipulated time and in the same way they were bound to sit in the office and work during the full duty hours. This is known to one and all that there is a big flock of employees who used to make mockery of office hours by coming late and going earlier or in some cases coming to office at their own sweet will. To counter such employees, biometric attendance played a significant role but with the advent of pandemic corona things went out of hand and this system was deferred for an unknown period of time thus giving another chance to people who are habitual of playing truancy. It will be good for one and all in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir that the government should reconsider its decision of stopping the Biometric attendance and reintroduce the same from June as there should be no compromise on UT government employees’ presence in the government office during the duty hours. It will be good enough for the government to ensure this system of checking absenteeism be placed yet again so that departments must regain full efficiency in their working and the people will also not face any difficulty while carrying out business with offices having public dealing. Of course the reintroduction of biometric attendance should ensure that employees follow protocols necessary to keep at bay the COVID-19 disease and any other infection which is contagious and can be contracted through touch of fingers with the screen.
