Geeta Gupta
Posted: Sep 21, 2011 at 0000 hrs IST
Posted: Sep 21, 2011 at 0000 hrs IST
New Delhi Shabhnam (60) was excited about getting herself a new identification document. She was at the Aadhaar Centre in Basti Nizamuddin. The “unique” number she would get soon would be her most important identification, she has been told. “The government is making it and everyone is getting it made, so why not?,” she asks.
She, however, was facing problems getting herself registered with the iris scanner. She could not keep her eyeballs still long enough to allow the machine to take an impression.
“Mataji, aankhein sthir rakhiye,” Rajesh Mittal, the centre’s in-charge, exhorts her. “She won’t be able to make it,” he says.
Registering for Aadhaar requires scanning prints of all 10 fingers and the iris of both eyes.
“Additional proofs can be considered, such as demographic, bank or mobile phone details. If the iris impression doesn’t work, we’ll consider thumb impression,” says Awadhesh Kumar Pandey, Assistant Director General (Media) for the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).
Around 100 people have been visiting the Nizamuddin centre for enrolment daily since it was opened on August 21, says Mittal. Visitors to the centre are essentially from the working class. They believe that the government is issuing a “new identification” to everyone free of cost, and all the other identification proofs shall soon be rendered obsolete and invalid.
“Maybe once I have this Aadhaar I will become eligible for government schemes. Everyone says we should all make it. And maybe once I have it, I would be considered below poverty line,” says Mohammad Shameel, a daily wager.
While registering for Aadhaar is free, Deputy Director General of UIDAI’s Delhi zone Sujata Chaturvedi says, “getting an Aadhaar number is voluntary and not mandatory”.
“At this stage, enrolment is absolutely voluntary. In fact, we aspire to achieve a level when the Central and the state governments have enabled an environment where all their schemes and services are integrated with Aadhaar to keep fake people away,” Chaturvedi says.
There are, however, many issues that cannot be addressed by the current enrolment process at present. For instance, it is difficult to differentiate between the “genuine” and the “non-genuine” candidates. Mittal tells all visitors to the centre that only “genuine residents of India” will get their numbers.
As verification documents, an applicant needs photo ID cards issued by the government. Pass books issued by private banks or bills from private telecom companies are not acceptable.
As proof of date of birth, the UID enrolment form demands any one of the four: birth certificate, SSLC book/certificate, passport or certificate of date of birth issued by Group A Gazetted officer on letterhead.
Mittal, however, says birth certificates are not being accepted. “They are required to have been issued by Group A Gazetted officers,” he says.
Chaturvedi told Newsline that there is also the option of “introducers” for people who do not have any proof of identification. For this, “the local Aadhaar registrar needs to be contacted and a gazetted officer would need to verify your status as an Indian resident,” she says.
There are close to 300 enrolments centres across Delhi, but their location continue to change.
“The number of centres and their location is decided by the registrars. At the level of the state government, enrolment agencies are decided at the Deputy Commissioner-level, who is the UID registrar of his area. At the non-state level are the government banks,” Chaturvedi says.
At the Nizamuddin centre, one or two people leave the process half-way every day as they don’t want their iris scans and fingerprints taken. “Hum koi chor hain kya? (Are we thieves?),” one asks.
Policemen, meanwhile, say they are happy with the process as with Aadhaar they will only need to enter fingerprints taken from crime scenes into the computer to get full details of the person.
But Chaturvedi says the UIDAI’s prime agenda would be to protect the identity and details of all UID holders. “Security is of utmost importance. If any information has to be shared with the police at a later point, clear modalities would have to be worked out for that.”
“Mataji, aankhein sthir rakhiye,” Rajesh Mittal, the centre’s in-charge, exhorts her. “She won’t be able to make it,” he says.
Registering for Aadhaar requires scanning prints of all 10 fingers and the iris of both eyes.
“Additional proofs can be considered, such as demographic, bank or mobile phone details. If the iris impression doesn’t work, we’ll consider thumb impression,” says Awadhesh Kumar Pandey, Assistant Director General (Media) for the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).
Around 100 people have been visiting the Nizamuddin centre for enrolment daily since it was opened on August 21, says Mittal. Visitors to the centre are essentially from the working class. They believe that the government is issuing a “new identification” to everyone free of cost, and all the other identification proofs shall soon be rendered obsolete and invalid.
“Maybe once I have this Aadhaar I will become eligible for government schemes. Everyone says we should all make it. And maybe once I have it, I would be considered below poverty line,” says Mohammad Shameel, a daily wager.
While registering for Aadhaar is free, Deputy Director General of UIDAI’s Delhi zone Sujata Chaturvedi says, “getting an Aadhaar number is voluntary and not mandatory”.
“At this stage, enrolment is absolutely voluntary. In fact, we aspire to achieve a level when the Central and the state governments have enabled an environment where all their schemes and services are integrated with Aadhaar to keep fake people away,” Chaturvedi says.
There are, however, many issues that cannot be addressed by the current enrolment process at present. For instance, it is difficult to differentiate between the “genuine” and the “non-genuine” candidates. Mittal tells all visitors to the centre that only “genuine residents of India” will get their numbers.
As verification documents, an applicant needs photo ID cards issued by the government. Pass books issued by private banks or bills from private telecom companies are not acceptable.
As proof of date of birth, the UID enrolment form demands any one of the four: birth certificate, SSLC book/certificate, passport or certificate of date of birth issued by Group A Gazetted officer on letterhead.
Mittal, however, says birth certificates are not being accepted. “They are required to have been issued by Group A Gazetted officers,” he says.
Chaturvedi told Newsline that there is also the option of “introducers” for people who do not have any proof of identification. For this, “the local Aadhaar registrar needs to be contacted and a gazetted officer would need to verify your status as an Indian resident,” she says.
There are close to 300 enrolments centres across Delhi, but their location continue to change.
“The number of centres and their location is decided by the registrars. At the level of the state government, enrolment agencies are decided at the Deputy Commissioner-level, who is the UID registrar of his area. At the non-state level are the government banks,” Chaturvedi says.
At the Nizamuddin centre, one or two people leave the process half-way every day as they don’t want their iris scans and fingerprints taken. “Hum koi chor hain kya? (Are we thieves?),” one asks.
Policemen, meanwhile, say they are happy with the process as with Aadhaar they will only need to enter fingerprints taken from crime scenes into the computer to get full details of the person.
But Chaturvedi says the UIDAI’s prime agenda would be to protect the identity and details of all UID holders. “Security is of utmost importance. If any information has to be shared with the police at a later point, clear modalities would have to be worked out for that.”
