A high-level meeting in Chandigarh, presided over by Chief Secretary H Rajesh Prasad on Thursday evening, has set the stage for significant civic reforms. The discussions centered on three critical agendas: the imminent rollout of paid parking, the push for complete adoption of the e-office system, and measures to ensure staff accountability through biometric attendance.
Paid Parking Nears Finalisation
The most crucial point of deliberation was the implementation of a paid parking system across the city. According to sources, the Municipal Corporation (MC) has already held extensive discussions with banking partners and is in the final stages of finalising the arrangement. An MC official revealed that the only pending issue is the finalisation of parking passes.
"Banks are deliberating with officials, and if all goes well, paid parking will be implemented in the coming days," the official told The Times of India. Multiple UT departments participated in the meeting, with the MC presenting detailed updates on its agenda items.
Drive Towards a Paperless Office
The meeting also conducted a thorough review of the e-office system, which aims to transform MC operations into a completely paperless environment. While significant progress has been made, with most departments already switching to digital files, a few cases still involve manual paperwork.
To eliminate this lag, senior officers have been instructed not to accept any physical files. Sources confirmed that the remaining manual cases will soon be converted to the e-office platform, ensuring greater efficiency and transparency in civic operations.
Biometric Attendance Linked to Salaries
In a strict move to ensure attendance compliance, the MC has implemented a system linking employee salaries directly to biometric attendance records across all departments. The accounts wing has received explicit directives to prepare salary statements strictly based on these digital attendance records.
This measure is intended to curb absenteeism and foster a culture of discipline and accountability within the civic administration. All senior administrative officers of the MC attended the meeting, which was fundamentally focused on improving the overall efficiency and transparency of Chandigarh's civic machinery.
