Delhi govt warns of action for latecomers, absent officials after CM’s surprise visit

A day after several officials were absent during Chief Minister Rekha Gupta’s surprise inspection at a government office, the Delhi government has issued a sweeping directive mandating strict adherence to office timings and attendance protocols across departments.

The government has instructed all officials, including senior bureaucrats such as additional chief secretaries, principal secretaries, secretaries and heads of departments, to observe official working hours from 9.30 am to 6 pm without exception.

The directive, made public on Thursday, aims to ensure “punctuality and proper attendance” at all levels of government. It emphasises that existing biometric attendance systems must be fully operational and used uniformly across all offices.

“It is also to be ensured that the already installed biometric attendance system, if any, should be working properly in their offices and subordinate offices,” the order said.

All officers and officials, including the additional chief secretary, principal secretary, secretary, and heads of departments, are required to mark their attendance only through the biometric attendance system, as specified in the order.

Heads of departments are tasked with regularly monitoring attendance and ensuring punctuality among officials in their respective departments, the government order added.

“In case of late coming, early leaving, or not marking attendance, suitable action shall be taken against the concerned official,” the order further said.

During her surprise inspection at the state GST office in ITO on Wednesday, Gupta found several officials, including senior officers, absent.

Subsequently, the chief minister directed that immediate show-cause notices be issued to all absentees and requested them to submit biometric attendance records for the past month without delay, officials said.