CHANDIGARH, June 28 — The Haryana Health Department’s move to enforce a GPS- and facial recognition-based attendance app among government doctors and health staff is running into stiff resistance, stalling full-scale implementation across the state. Despite official directives making the app mandatory, uptake remains minimal amid strong pushback from employee unions.
The app — designed to ensure real-time, location-bound attendance using geo-fencing and facial recognition — was rolled out to curb absenteeism and strengthen accountability. It triggers alerts when an employee moves beyond a 500-metre radius of their designated workplace during duty hours. A stable internet connection and continuous location access are essential for its operation.
Initially introduced in Ambala for National Health Mission (NHM) employees, the app’s scope was recently expanded to cover all government health staff, including doctors, nurses, lab technicians, and field workers at district hospitals, CHCs, PHCs, and Ayushman Arogya Mandirs. However, the decision has triggered sharp opposition.
Doctors under the Haryana Civil Medical Services Association (HCMSA) have voiced their concerns by submitting memorandums to district civil surgeons and escalating the issue to senior health officials, including the Director General of Health Services, Additional Chief Secretary (Health), and the Health Minister.
“We are already marking biometric attendance. Introducing another layer of surveillance without our consent, especially one involving continuous tracking, is intrusive and unwarranted,” a representative of the HCMSA said.
Multiple associations — including those representing NHM workers, nurses, lab assistants, and radiographers — have echoed similar concerns. Their primary objections revolve around privacy, data security, and the fear of third-party tracking.
“There’s no clarity on how our personal data will be stored or used. We feel this level of surveillance violates our right to privacy,” said a nurse posted in a sub-divisional hospital.
Despite the dissent, health department officials maintain that the app is compulsory and have reiterated their intention to enforce it. “Instructions have been issued clearly. The app is mandatory for all categories of health staff,” an official said, while acknowledging that compliance is limited and the rollout has hit major roadblocks.
No concessions have been announced so far, and the standoff continues. Without consensus or cooperation from field-level workers, implementation of the app remains only partial — far from achieving its intended purpose of streamlining attendance and boosting efficiency in the public health system.
