The letter expresses unhappiness over media reports over turf wars between the UIDAI, which comes under the nodal authority of the Planning Commission, and the RGI under the home ministry. The crux of the issue is the security of the biometric data being collected by the two agencies. While the RGI collects data through officials visiting homes, the UIDAI collects it through private agencies, who ask people to come over to their collection centres.
This is a much more important issue than the dispute over jurisdiction and, though belatedly, Chidambaram has raised the right issue. Only last month, the parliamentary standing committee on finance had rejected the National Identification Authority of India (NIDAI) Bill, 2010 — which was supposed to provide the legal basis to the UIDAI — raising questions about the ethics, feasibility and purpose of the project as well as its legality. The committee said the UID scheme was “built up on untested, unreliable technology and several assumptions” and large-scale involvement of private agencies in collection of biometric data about the citizens of India was not only unconstitutional but a threat to national security.
In the backdrop of the parliamentary committee’s severe indictment, further continuance of the scheme is untenable. That such an ambitious project with wider implications for the citizen’s right to privacy and national security was launched without Parliament’s approval shows the UPA government’s utter disregard for law and democratic traditions. The government should scrap this scheme, which was initiated without legislative sanction, feasibility study and cost-benefit analysis.
Comments
Can one believe P.Chidambaram's or Parliamentary Standing Committee's sincerity??? 
By Money V.M
1/23/2012 7:58:00 PM
I completely agree wth the editorial stand. Kudos indian express
By Jijeesh P B
1/23/2012 1:12:00 PM
When we clamour for donning the attire,illsuited to our phisiology,it is sure to leave toll on our good health. So, is the clamour of the centre for UIDAI. How UDIAI, the brain child of the centre eluded vital security measures, smacks of our short term vision. It is the Parliament Committee that has sounded alarm to wake up the centre from the hybernation. Given the struggle of the lowest mortals to beat poverty in India, the white elephant scheme is irrelevant. When the vocal chords of crores of Indians cry for food,health and education, which are slowly becomming inaccessible to many, the centre's loosening the strings in its purse for UIDAI is unwise.
By C.Chandrasekaran(Madurai)
1/21/2012 4:02:00 PM
What is the purpose of this UID and end use, one should make it clear. People having access to higher technology, cannot think in normal ways in their official matters. Main reason is crores of Rupees is at their disposal, and nobody is bothered about end result. When already, many identification cards are there, why they should have another one. This may be possible where the population is limited. Instead of spending time and money on people who are having cards, they should concentrate on people, who are not having any of these. Only a limited section of the population will be having specific tasks/ requirement, like driving, share market, tax payers, business and so on. Like population census, ration cards - they should try to cover all - migrated people, people living on temporary basis are to be screened and covered.Even a good section of the people with all the government machinery, could not be brought in the tax net.
By gopalan
1/21/2012 8:42:00 AM
This is a much more important issue than the dispute over jurisdiction and, though belatedly, Chidambaram has raised the right issue. Only last month, the parliamentary standing committee on finance had rejected the National Identification Authority of India (NIDAI) Bill, 2010 — which was supposed to provide the legal basis to the UIDAI — raising questions about the ethics, feasibility and purpose of the project as well as its legality. The committee said the UID scheme was “built up on untested, unreliable technology and several assumptions” and large-scale involvement of private agencies in collection of biometric data about the citizens of India was not only unconstitutional but a threat to national security.
In the backdrop of the parliamentary committee’s severe indictment, further continuance of the scheme is untenable. That such an ambitious project with wider implications for the citizen’s right to privacy and national security was launched without Parliament’s approval shows the UPA government’s utter disregard for law and democratic traditions. The government should scrap this scheme, which was initiated without legislative sanction, feasibility study and cost-benefit analysis.
Comments
Can one believe P.Chidambaram's or Parliamentary Standing Committee's sincerity??? By Money V.M
1/23/2012 7:58:00 PM
I completely agree wth the editorial stand. Kudos indian express By Jijeesh P B
1/23/2012 1:12:00 PM
When we clamour for donning the attire,illsuited to our phisiology,it is sure to leave toll on our good health. So, is the clamour of the centre for UIDAI. How UDIAI, the brain child of the centre eluded vital security measures, smacks of our short term vision. It is the Parliament Committee that has sounded alarm to wake up the centre from the hybernation. Given the struggle of the lowest mortals to beat poverty in India, the white elephant scheme is irrelevant. When the vocal chords of crores of Indians cry for food,health and education, which are slowly becomming inaccessible to many, the centre's loosening the strings in its purse for UIDAI is unwise. By C.Chandrasekaran(Madurai)
1/21/2012 4:02:00 PM
What is the purpose of this UID and end use, one should make it clear. People having access to higher technology, cannot think in normal ways in their official matters. Main reason is crores of Rupees is at their disposal, and nobody is bothered about end result. When already, many identification cards are there, why they should have another one. This may be possible where the population is limited. Instead of spending time and money on people who are having cards, they should concentrate on people, who are not having any of these. Only a limited section of the population will be having specific tasks/ requirement, like driving, share market, tax payers, business and so on. Like population census, ration cards - they should try to cover all - migrated people, people living on temporary basis are to be screened and covered.Even a good section of the people with all the government machinery, could not be brought in the tax net. By gopalan
1/21/2012 8:42:00 AM