Workers' Union Demands End to Biometric Attendance in Rural Employment Scheme
The Tamil Nadu Agricultural Workers’ Union has called on the Union government to withdraw the mandatory biometric attendance system for workers employed under the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) [VB-G RAM G], arguing that it has led to the loss of employment for thousands of workers.
The demand was formalised in a resolution adopted at the union's Western Districts Frontline Workers’ meeting. The meeting, chaired by State secretary S. Mahendran, was attended by State president N. Periyasamy and office-bearers from Erode, Coimbatore, and Tiruppur districts.
According to the resolution, workers must now register their attendance at worksites daily using fingerprint and iris authentication. Previously, attendance was recorded through the National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS) and other technology-based monitoring mechanisms.
The union alleged that poor internet connectivity and inadequate digital infrastructure in rural areas have made the biometric system unreliable. As a result, many genuine workers are being marked absent and losing wages. It argued that the system undermines the objective of the VB-G RAM G scheme, which aims to guarantee employment to rural households.
The meeting urged the State government to press the Union government to withdraw the biometric attendance system and restore a worker-friendly method of recording attendance. It described the present system as anti-worker and called for its immediate abolition.
The VB-G RAM G scheme, a flagship rural employment programme, provides a legal guarantee of at least 100 days of wage employment per year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. The introduction of biometric attendance was intended to improve transparency and prevent fraud, but workers' representatives say it has created new barriers.
Efforts to reach officials of the Union Ministry of Rural Development for comment were unsuccessful. However, similar grievances have been raised in other states, with some jurisdictions opting for a hybrid system that allows for physical attendance registers in areas with poor connectivity.
The union's demand highlights the ongoing tension between technological solutions and ground-level realities in India's vast rural employment ecosystem. The outcome of this appeal could have implications for the implementation of biometric systems in other social welfare schemes.
