KOCHI, November 11, 2013
STAFF REPORTER
HICCUPS APLENTY:There is no clear-cut data on Aadhaar coverage in Ernakulam district.— Photo: K.K. Mustafah
Dearth of adequate number of enrolment centres within city limits and constant hiccups in enrolment mechanism have made life difficult for members of the public looking to secure Aadhaar number.
With the Parliament planning to move a bill during the forthcoming winter session to give statutory status to the Unique Identification Authority of India that issues Aadhaar number, the prospects of Aadhaar becoming mandatory for various welfare schemes appear increasingly probable.
About 50 Akshaya centres are engaged in Aadhaar enrolment in the district. At one point of time, there were as many as 70 centres providing the service.
The experience of Sunitha, a city-based college lecturer, last week exemplifies the hardships encountered by the public in securing Aadhaar more than two years after the process was set in motion. She along with her two children approached an Akshaya centre in Palarivattom. About 45 minutes into their wait, the system broke down and it took a while before it was restored.
The system broke down yet again just before their turn and they were informed that enrolment would not be possible that day. Sunitha and her children then went to an Akshaya centre at Kakkanad only to see it shut. It was well past afternoon when they eventually got enrolled at an Akshaya centre at Pattimattom, almost 25 km from the city.
M.P. Chackochan, president, Akshaya Welfare Association, Ernakulam, said entrepreneurs faced immense difficulty in case of breakdown of laptop or biometric devices. “Systems were supplied by a Thiruvananthapuram-based company which does not have any branches in Kochi. Hence enrolment will be affected at least for a couple of days till the problem is fixed,” he said.
Enrolment will be hit for even longer if the biometric devices encountered serious problems. For instance, the enrolment will be affected for a couple of weeks if the device needs a replacement. The replacements had to come from Hyderabad, Mr. Chackochan said.
Meanwhile, the rate of daily enrolment has come down to 20-30 from 120-150. This could be attributed to the uncertainty over whether or not Aadhaar was mandatory especially in the wake of the Supreme Court verdict against making Aadhaar mandatory for welfare schemes. Mr. Chackochan said there could be another surge in enrolment if the Union government’s move to give statutory status to UID becomes a reality. There is no clear-cut data on the Aadhaar coverage in the district. Mr. Chackochan said the presence of a huge floating population made such an assessment difficult.