CHENNAI: The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) is planning to introduce a biometric attendance system to ensure that employees complete their full eight-hour shifts, following repeated complaints about staff not reporting to duty on time.

Corporation sources said recurring complaints had emerged from the Ambattur zone, particularly involving conservancy sanitary inspectors.

According to GCC data, the civic body has 36,381 employees, including 12,960 permanent staff and 23,421 contract workers. Speaking to DT Next, GCC Commissioner GS Sameeran said, “Preliminary discussions were held on the feasibility of implementing a biometric attendance system for all workers. The initiative is in the budding stage. Details will be shared later after studying the progress of the work.”

The GCC plans to introduce a twice-daily biometric attendance system requiring employees to register their presence in the morning and evening. Officials and staff engaged in inspections and field work may also be required to mark attendance through a mobile app with geofencing, which would record their photograph and location details.

Former GCC Commissioner J Kumaragurubaran said discussions had already been held with officials regarding the identification of locations for installing face-recognition attendance systems across GCC campuses. “There’s an app ready to register the attendance of field staff. The new Commissioner has to take a call on continuing the initiative,” he said.

P Srinivasalu, general secretary, Madras Corporation Red Flag Union, said biometric attendance had earlier been introduced in ward and zonal offices but was not effectively implemented. “On August 27, a biometric system was introduced for cleanliness workers, but it lacked implementation. Often, sanitary inspectors fail and mark their attendance even after showing up to work,” he alleged.

At present, biometric attendance is being followed for administrative staff at Ripon building. However, senior officials, including assistant executive engineers and executive engineers, are exempt, a GCC official said.