Chetan Chauhan, Hindustan Times
New Delhi, January 24, 2012
The Unique Identification (UID) is supposed to provide technological solutions, to improve governance, but the same technology had slowed down its rollout. Of the 17 crore people enrolled, the UID or Aadhaar letters have been dispatched to just three crore. The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) had procured a two mbps leased line to transfer Aadhaar data to the postal department. The lease line has the capability to download data for printing just two lakh Aadhaar letters as against the required 10 lakh to ensure that one gets his or her UID within three months.
“We have to deliver an Aadhaar letter in 17 working days. Our data shows over 65% of the letters were delivered within seven days,” a senior official of the postal department said to indicate that delay was on part of UIDAI, not them.
The UIDAI was supposed to take a month for generation of an Aadhaar number after enrollment but the average period taken had been two to three months. The authority’s technology centre in Bangalore was not able to cope with the sudden increase in enrollments in later part of 2011.
Not just UIDAI, the postal department has also been technologically handicapped. Of the three crore Aadhaar dispatched, the department has clue to about 60 lakh of them, which are in transit. “Their status has not been updated as many post offices are not computerised,” the official said.
Human error was just 1.5 lakh or 0.4% of Aadhaar letters dispatched being returned to UIDAI as their was no claimant on account of wrong address.
Many such as Ashok G Waghmare have not received Aadhaar number even after 10 months after enrollment. Vivek Sharma, a government official, is surprised, as his wife has received an Aadhaar number but he and his two daughters haven’t.
PC dismisses reports of rift over Aadhar
Home minister P Chidambaram on Monday played down reports of a rift between the home ministry and the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIADI) led by technocrat Nandan Nilekani. “There is no clash between Aadhar and the Smart Card issued by the home ministry,” he said launching the distribution of smart cards for coastal villages in Tamil Nadu at Pattipulam village, about 80 km from Chennai.
“We are at examining how best to include the Aadhar number into the Smart Card,” he added.
Of the 17 crore people enrolled, unique identification or Aadhar letters have been dispatched to three crore people. “We have to deliver an Aadhar letter in 17 working days. Our data shows over 65% of the letters were delivered within seven days,” a senior postal department official said in Delhi to indicate that the delay was on the part of the UIDAI. It was supposed to take a month to generate an Aadhar number after enrollment but the average period taken has been two to three months.