Chetan Chauhan, Hindustan Times
New Delhi, January 18, 2012
Nandan Nilekani headed the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has promised quick delivery of your Unique Identification (UID) or Aadhaar number. But, that is not happening and UIDAI has blamed the postal department for the delay.
The Aadhaar number, which should have reached the person enrolled in a month, is taking up to three months or even more.
“The postal department does not have adequate capacity in its printing centers in Delhi and Kolkata to print and dispatch Aadhaar letters as promised,” a senior UIDAI official explained
The department has been able to print just 1.5 lakh letters a day against daily enrolment of 10 lakh residents. As a result of the delay, just three crore Aadhaar numbers of the 10 crore generated so far has been dispatched. The UIDAI has recorded biometric details of 17 crore resident of its 20 crore target for enrollment by March 2012.
Slow delivery of letters is not the only problem. The postal has not been able to ensure that many Aadhaar letters reach the right person as in several cases the address mentioned in the letter was found to be incorrect. Although UIDAI has asked the postal department to trace the new address of Aadhaar holder, the department officials say finding the new address is turning out to be a difficult task.
To end the delay, the UIDAI has decided that another government body, Telecommunications Consultants India Limited (TCIL) will print Aadhaar letters and supply it to postal department for mailing them to residents.
“TCIL will be printing minimum of about seven to 10 lakh Aadhaar cards in a day,” a UIDAI official said. In addition to their Mumbai facility, TCIL would be setting up two more printing units to meet the demand.
The UIDAI will also be providing an alternative platform to receive Aadhaar letters --- download from its website within month of enrolment.