Chandigarh, Aug. 30 – Members of the Swasthya Vibhag Karamchari Talmel Committee, Haryana, will meet on September 7 to decide on a fresh agitation against the state government’s decision to implement geo-fencing-based attendance for health department employees.
The move follows a hunger strike observed by doctors and health workers across all civil surgeon offices and district civil hospitals on August 28. Participants staged a protest from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., submitting memorandums addressed to Governor Ashim Kumar Ghosh, urging the state government to reconsider the new attendance system.
Haryana Civil Medical Services Association (HCMSA) president Dr. Rajesh Khyalia said, “The delegation had apprised Health Minister Arti Singh Rao on July 8 about potential cybersecurity threats from the mobile application, including unauthorized access to personal data, cyber frauds, and data misuse. She assured us that the issue would be resolved, but no action has been taken so far.”
Dr. Khyalia added that the geo-fencing system, which requires installation of a mobile application on personal devices to track doctors’ locations, amounts to a breach of privacy. “This infringes upon a fundamental right as upheld by the Supreme Court in its August 24, 2017, judgment in the Justice K.S. Puttaswamy versus Union of India case,” he said.
Health department employees also highlighted that attendance is already recorded through a biometric system, making the introduction of a geo-fencing application unnecessary.
The committee’s September 7 meeting will determine whether further protests, including strikes or demonstrations, will be launched in response to the government’s orders.
