Oishani Mojumder By

Express News Service

HYDERABAD: The State government is all set to geo-tag its employees’ attendance, even as a large section of them calls the step unconstitutional and tantamount to the intrusion of privacy. “The system is based on Aadhaar Biometric Attendance System and will be applied to almost all departments,” IT & EC Principal Secretary Jayesh Ranjan told Express.

A senior IT & EC official said, “The plan is to provide a geo-coordinate to every biometric device and link employees’ ID and Aadhaar details. This will help ensure employees mark their attendance at the designated location. For example, a school employee would be geo-tagged to a biometric system, and cannot swipe his/her card at a different branch.”

“Data collection has started with AYUSH-department employees. On Wednesday, their information, including Aadhaar number, was collected in Karimnagar. It was done in Medak, Sangareddy and Siddipet on Thursday, and will be done in Mahbubnagar too,” a well-placed source said.

The idea has fuelled fears of privacy breaches. “Geo-tagging is meant for animals and vehicles, or anti-social elements. The government is indifferent to our personal freedom. This violates Article 21 of the Constitution,” said Telangana Government Doctors Association president Dr Lalu Prasad.