With the biometric attendance data of the Delhi Development Authority raising the spectre of a big manpower scam its vice-chairman Balvinder Kumar on Monday said it was too “premature to say there are 2,000 ghost employees in the land agency or that there is some sort of scandal regarding absentia employees”.

Mr. Kumar said: “Some employees are not enrolled in the biometric system. It does not mean they are ghost employees.”

“As of now, the 2,000 people are found to be not enrolled in the biometric system, which was introduced last month. That does not mean that they are ghost employees. Many employees are working in departments or parks and could not enrol in the new system,” he added.

The DDA also said the biometric attendance system has brought discipline in the civic agency and it is mulling extending the system to even security and horticulture staff hired on contract basis to increase accountability.

There are 15,000 employees in the DDA.

Mr. Kumar said, “The stage of verification is left. Last month, biometric system of attendance was introduced in DDA offices and it was said that salary would not be disbursed to any employee found not registered. After a month, we found that some 2,000 employees who were drawing salary were not registered in the biometric system.”

“I have directed all head of departments to disclose the number of personnel in their department to the accounts section. System department has also been instructed to check that biometric systems are made available even in far-flung engineering and horticulture division. Thirdly, employees on leave, both with and without pay, are also being assessed,” the V-C said.