Deepu Sebastian Edmond : Ranchi, Tue Dec 18 2012, 03:42 hrs
Two weeks before the direct cash transfer is unveiled in 43 districts, a partial list available with The Indian Express reveals generation of Aadhaar numbers has been erratic till November 30. Faced with low registration in some states, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has reportedly asked the state governments to focus on enrolling only those who will benefit from the 34 schemes covered under the direct cash transfer scheme, to be rolled out on a pilot basis on January 1, 2013.
In Haryana’s Ambala and Sonipat, only 25 and 18 per cent of the population respectively have received their UID numbers. In Rajasthan’s Ajmer, Alwar and Udaipur, only 15, 16 and 14 per cent of the population have been covered. On the other hand, the corresponding figures hover around 90 per cent for the four pilot districts of Himachal Pradesh, which have since been excluded from the pilot.
“As the number of persons yet to enrolled is large vis-à-vis enrolment kits actually available in the field to complete the said enrolment by 1st January 2013, UIDAI has directed the enrolment to be carried out with special focus to beneficiaries of the aforesaid scheme,” Jharkhand’s IT secretary, N N Sinha, has written to the deputy commissioners of Ranchi, Ramgarh, Seraikela-Kharsawan and Hazaribagh.
Rajesh Bansal, UIDAI assistant director general, could not confirm the directive. “This could be just one state government taking measures to ensure they are ready. I would not know about the other states.”
In none of Jharkhand’s four pilot districts — Hazaribagh, Ramgarh, Ranchi and Seraikela-Kharsawan — has Aadhaar reached even 40 per cent as of November 30. The numbers could rise as many have registered for Aadhaar and are waiting for their numbers. In Seraikela-Kharsawan, for example, three lakh individuals have enrolled but only 22,000 have received their numbers.
The numbers may have been skewed by the rural-urban divide, too. “Of the 12.5 lakh Aadhaar numbers generated, over 10 lakh are in urban Ranchi. That’s almost all of the urban area. This leaves us with the rest of Ranchi district’s 29.1 lakh population — and a large rural population,” said Ranchi’s deputy development commissioner, Rajkamal Arava.
“We have estimated there should be 70,000 such beneficiaries (of the 34 schemes) in Ranchi,” Arava said. “Officers have been asked to locate these individuals and get them to the enrolment facility. There will be three, four counters at each block from December 17-31. At 50 enrolments at each counter every day, we are confident we can achieve the target,” said the Ranchi DDC.
Of the 34 schemes spread across eight government departments, 28 are related to students and involve scholarships, fellowships, fee subsidies and stipends. Of the rest, three are related to women and child development — Indira Gandhi Matrivita Yojana, Dhanalakshmi Scheme, Janani Suraksha Yojana. The coverage of these schemes is limited when compared to the planned expansion of the DCT scheme, which will be linked to kerosene subsidies, pensions and payments under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.
Aadhar coverage
State Dists % covered
Haryana 2 25, 18
Rajasthan 3 14-16
Jharkhand 4 22-35
Himachal* 4 Near 90
* Now excluded from project
Figures till Nov 30; 51 districts initially selected for direct cash transfer pilot
