
The Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (MC) has announced that biometric attendance will be mandatory for all employees starting from November 1, 2025. This new system, called the Facial Authentication Aadhaar-Based Biometric Attendance System (AEBAS), requires employees to mark their attendance using facial recognition through personal smartphones. Municipal Commissioner Amit Kumar directed all wings and divisions to strictly follow this initiative to ensure a modern, accurate, and accountable attendance system. The main aim of the system is to make attendance management transparent, reduce errors, and make it easier to monitor employee presence in real time.
Currently, there are 10,930 active employees registered on the Biometric Attendance Portal, which has been developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC). This includes regular staff, contractual workers, outsourced employees, and field personnel. Employees who have not yet registered on the system are required to complete their registration within seven days. Commissioner Amit Kumar has emphasized that all employees must update their biometric and service details, including their posting locations, by October 31. This is necessary to ensure that attendance records are accurate and reflect the correct information for every individual.
The commissioner reviewed the operational readiness of the AEBAS system and gave clear instructions for strict compliance from November 1. Salaries for all employees will now be linked directly to their attendance records. This means that any employee failing to mark attendance properly may face delays or deductions in their salary. The move is designed to hold all staff accountable for their working hours and ensure that the payroll system is fully integrated with the biometric attendance mechanism.
To prevent any discrepancies, special provisions have been made for employees who might face difficulty in marking attendance through their personal devices. In such cases, the employee’s supervisor is required to help them either by using their own smartphone or by facilitating attendance through a nearby biometric machine. This ensures that no employee is penalized due to technical difficulties while maintaining the integrity of the system.
The municipal commissioner also highlighted that AEBAS is part of the MC’s broader efforts to adopt technology-driven solutions for efficient administration. By using facial recognition and Aadhaar integration, the system is expected to minimize errors, prevent proxy attendance, and allow better monitoring of work patterns. Employees are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the system in advance to avoid any last-minute issues when the mandatory implementation begins.
The new biometric attendance system is expected to bring several benefits to the municipal administration. It will help improve transparency by providing real-time attendance data for all staff members. This will make it easier to track absenteeism, monitor punctuality, and manage workforce distribution more effectively across various departments. By linking salaries to attendance records, the administration also aims to strengthen accountability among staff and ensure that every employee reports to work as required.
Commissioner Amit Kumar has made it clear that the success of the system depends on full cooperation from all employees. Regular training and guidance sessions are being arranged to help staff understand how to mark attendance using facial recognition and smartphones. Supervisors are also instructed to take an active role in assisting employees whenever necessary, ensuring smooth implementation and reducing the chances of errors.
Additionally, the system will serve as a valuable tool for planning and administration. With accurate attendance data, municipal authorities can better allocate staff to different tasks, schedule field operations, and monitor employee performance. The AEBAS system will also generate reports that can be used for internal audits, making the municipal corporation’s operations more organized and efficient.
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By implementing the biometric attendance system, Chandigarh MC aims to set an example for other urban local bodies in India. The move reflects a shift towards using technology to improve governance and administrative efficiency. It also aligns with national initiatives to digitize government processes and promote accountability in public service. Over time, this system may be expanded or integrated with other digital tools to further streamline operations and enhance overall productivity.
Employees have been urged to complete all pending registrations and update their details promptly. The administration has reassured staff that technical issues will be managed carefully, and no one will face undue inconvenience while the system is being implemented. However, strict compliance will be enforced, and repeated failure to mark attendance correctly may lead to administrative action.
In conclusion, Chandigarh Municipal Corporation’s adoption of the AEBAS system marks a significant step towards modern, efficient, and accountable workforce management. By using facial recognition and linking attendance with payroll, the MC expects to reduce absenteeism, ensure fair salary disbursement, and strengthen transparency across all departments. The initiative is designed not only to improve administrative efficiency but also to provide a model for other municipal bodies aiming to adopt technology-driven solutions for public governance. Employees’ cooperation, timely registration, and accurate updates are key to the success of this system, which promises to modernize attendance tracking in Chandigarh’s municipal administration.