3 min readNew DelhiMay 25, 2026 05:11 AM IST
Delhi Chief Secretary Rajeev Kumar has warned employees across government departments to mark their biometric attendance or face disciplinary action after finding that guidelines issued earlier were not being heeded despite reminders, said sources. The warning comes over a month after Chief Minister Rekha Gupta held a surprise inspection at the office of Department of Trade and Taxes and found senior officers and staff missing. Following the inspection, biometric attendance was made mandatory for staff members and officers across government departments.
The Chief Secretary, said officials, held a meeting with all the Heads of the Departments (HoDs) last week and directed them to ensure that the staff members take the directions seriously.
“It was observed that several officers across different departments were still not marking their attendance through the Biometric Attendance System. The CS warned the departments to take the directions seriously, or, he said strict disciplinary action will be taken,” said a senior official who was in attendance at the meeting.
Sources said that show-cause notices have also been issued to some officers and staff members in different departments for not adhering to the guidelines.
After the CM’s surprise inspection last month, all the employees, including additional Chief Secretary, Principal Secretary and Secretary-level officers, were asked to punch in at 9.30 am and punch out at 6 pm. However, the Delhi government has recently implemented staggered timings for the employees after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call to save fuel in the wake of the Iran-US war.
During her review, the CM sought a monthly attendance report indicating the average time of arrival of each official. She also directed the General Administration Department (GAD) to compile a daily attendance report and submit it to the Chief Secretary by 12 pm every day.
After fresh directions from the Chief Secretary, the Public Works Department (PWD) has also issued a fresh order to its staff, saying, “… It has been observed that some officers/officials are either not marking their attendance regularly or are not doing so within the prescribed office timings… Therefore, all officers/officials are once again directed to register themselves in the Biometric Attendance System, if they have not already done so, and to mark their attendance regularly on a daily basis within the prescribed office timings. All officers/officials shall ensure strict compliance with these instructions and adhere to them without any lapse.”
Story continues below this ad
An official said, “Order for work from home on Wednesday has also come. For the rest of the days, we have directed officials to mark their attendance to ensure everyone comes to office on time.”
Moreover, the PWD has also asked its officials to consider carpooling for inspections, field visits and travel to office, wherever feasible, as part of efforts to reduce fuel consumption and emissions.
“During inspections, inaugurations and official events, officers have also been advised to travel together using electric vehicles, pooled vehicles or public transport,” the official said. Further, officials have also been asked to maximise the use of electric pumps and permanent pumping stations instead of diesel-operated or tractor-mounted pumps.
In addition, virtual meetings will be encouraged to minimise avoidable travel.
