Chaos reigns at UID centre at Arya Samaj ...... AADHAR not as Useful or Fool Proof as made out to be.
-by Rajiv Kakria
With much fanfare UID camp was opened at Arya Samaj Mandir for GK residents. People had high hopes of a smooth system, what with the hype of a Rs. 20,000/- crore budget and Nandan Nelikani’s brainchild. Many people rushed to the centre to find total mismanagement and chaos .... no forms, computers not installed, UID staff not fully trained, no one from UID to guide etc. A few lessons learnt Arya Samaj management took it upon themselves to ease the hardships of residents.
Kudos to Arya Samaj Mandir to have offered space for this much needed camp. The problem with these camps is that anyone from anywhere in Delhi can get registered. Many residents called and spoke of the chaos that prevailed .... mismanagement was on another account also ..... organisers should have announced Block wise registration, that too in batches of 50 households at a time.
The RWAs of E and S block approached the authorities to set up camp in their blocks exclusively for their residents only. Here too, the first day was chaotic as the staff is ill trained but due to controlled rush and RWA members there to support things eased out. Other blocks who can offer enclosed space can also open camps to ease the rush at Arya Samaj, C-Block is already in talks to set up a camp.
Now, how useful is this UID Card ..... not much as it only helps you open a bank account or get a Passport .... Election Card, Driving Licence, Electricity Bill ..... too are valid identity, so is this expense really needed when the Census people will also be issuing ID Cards and spend a similar amount .... could the Govt. have combined the two exercises.
What’s more we in E-Block realised in the first 15 minutes of operations that Bio-metrics of Senior Citizens cannot be recorded, therefore not Foolproof. It was a jolt to the elderly and they vehemently protested when they were being turned away. Hindustan Times took up the issue and it was revealed that for senior citizens or those with Eye Lens Implants, the supervisor bypasses the bio-metric recording and issues the card without any identity recording.
Which means that in a few years if I get Lens Implants or when I become a senior citizen my Bio-metrics become redundant. What stops a person to get multiple UID cards as in the case of PAN Cards from different cities. Not only that these private agencies are issuing UIDs to all and sundry without verification. My barber told me that his brother who does not live with him, used his electricity bill as address proof and got himself and his family registered .... IS THIS NOT AN OPEN INVITATION to terrorists to get the AADHAR to bomb us.
This is a serious issue and cannot be taken lightly ...... wonder what our elected Representatives and Media were doing and how come no one noticed these anomalies in the past two years?