August 11, 2015
The Supreme Court on Aug.11, 2015 told the government to give wide publicity in media that Aadhar was not mandatory to get benefits which are otherwise due to citizens. However, governments — Centre and States — have tried to press Aadhar on people by making it mandatory to access select services.
Here are 10 instances where governments insisted on people having an Aadhar card when you actually didn't:
The Supreme Court on Aug.11, 2015 told the government to give wide publicity in media that Aadhar was not mandatory to get benefits which are otherwise due to citizens. In September 2013 itself, the apex court had ordered that no citizen should be denied government benefits for not having the Aadhar card.
However, governments — Centre and States — have tried to press Aadhar on people by making it mandatory to access select services. Often, the orders had to be retracted after protests.
Here are 10 instances where governments insisted on people having an Aadhar.
Jan Dhan Yojana
The scheme to open bank accounts for all, launched immediately after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's maiden Independence Day speech last year, says an Aadhaar card is enough to open an account on the spot. However, the government clarified later that the card is not mandatory.
Passport verification
In Nov. 2014, a month after batting for Aadhaar, the Ministry of External Affairs issued a note saying plans were afoot to make Aadhaar number mandatory for issue of passport. This was later withdrawn but the fact remains that having an Aadhar card eliminates the routine police verification and speeds up the passport issue process.
Provident fund transactions
The government in October 2013 said salaried employees in the organised sector would have to provide their Aadhaar numbers for seeking benefits under the EPF scheme. The mandate was later withdrawn.
Road Transport Authority
Were you asked to produce your Aadhaar card for any transaction in any Road Transport Authority office across Andhra Pradesh? Since July 29, it has been made mandatory in the interest of better service and security.
Ration card & LPG subsidy
The Karnataka government in 2013, the Andhra Pradesh government in 2014 and the Puducherry government in 2015 asked all ration-card holders to produce their Aadhaar numbers to avail PDS benefits. In the same year, Indian Oil Corporation informed consumers that they would not get their LPG subsidy if they did not provide Aadhaar details.
Real estate transactions
In a recent interview, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the government was considering making the use of Aadhaar mandatory so it “could provide a trail of all real estate transactions by an individual.” This, according to the FM, would aid in the crackdown on black money.
Mobile numbers
In Oct. 2014, the Central government said it would start linking mobile SIM cards with Aadhaar numbers, which would be an advantage for subscribers as they can get a host of services including financial transactions. It later clarified that it was not a mandatory process.
Matrimonial sites
In Dec. 2014, a report said the Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi, in the wake of the Uber taxi rape incident, wanted all matrimonial sites to make it compulsory for users to provide their Aadhaar numbers for profile authentication.
Jail visits in Telangana
Faced with the daunting task of screening criminals posing as visitors to jails, the Telangana Prisons Department (TPD) has found a solution: In the near future, all those visiting prison inmates should carry their Aadhaar cards, it said on Aug.11, 2015
Property tax
In Dec. 2014, officials of Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation came under criticism for insisting on Aadhaar numbers for payment of property tax. This practice by corporation officials has also been reported in Chennai.