MCD's biometric system to take rollcall of safai karamcharis

New Delhi, May 28 (UNI) A day after the State Consumer Redressal Forum fined the MCD for failing to prevent waterlogging on city roads, the MCD is now planning to install a biometric system to ensure attendence of its employees, especially during heavy rains.

Speaking today at a meeting of the Standing Committee, MCD commissioner K S Mehra today said the system, soon to be installed in all 12 zones of the city, would ensure attendance of 'safai karamcharis' for cleaning and sanitation work by making a provision for these employees to register their attendance through the system three times a day.

The state consumer redressal forum had yesterday slapped a fine of Rs 25 lakh for the waterlogging of the capital's roads after heavy rains two years ago. The order came on a complaint of three advocates in 2006 after the city was lashed by heavy rains.

The complaint alleged that rains caused the drains to overflow which resulted in knee-deep waterlogging of many areas and roads.

This, the complaint said, brought misery and harassment to office-goers and commuters.

Justice J D Kapoor, while slapping the fine, also pulled up the MCD for making false claims in its affidavit that it had done de-silting and cleaning of the drains by setting up control rooms all over the city and Sanitation Task Force in each zone.

At the meeting, Standing Committee chairman Vijender Gupta also suggested stationing the CISF at various Sanitary Landfill Sites (SLF) to monitor the work of desilting and cleaning of drains in the city.

The proposal comes after the commissioner recently found several irregularities in desilting work at the SLF sites at Bhalaswa, Ghazipur and Okhla.

The MCD Commissioner on May 23 ordered strict disciplinary action against 14 Executive Engineers, 20 Assistant Engineers, 17 Junior Engineers and 21 class-IV employees for serious irregularities and malpractices at those sites.

The action followed surprise and repeated raids this month at various landfill sites by the MCD Vigilance department wherein it was detected that the officials concerned were conniving with the contractors in dumping garbage at SLF sites in place of the silt removed from various nallahas during the desiltation work presently being carried out at 'nallaas' situated in different parts of the city.

UNI AR SYU RN1932