AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 9761 - MGNREGA will not suffer due to arrears of last fiscal, clarifies government

In 2009, I became extremely concerned with the concept of Unique Identity for various reasons. Connected with many like minded highly educated people who were all concerned.

On 18th May 2010, I started this Blog to capture anything and everything I came across on the topic. This blog with its million hits is a testament to my concerns about loss of privacy and fear of the ID being misused and possible Criminal activities it could lead to.

In 2017 the Supreme Court of India gave its verdict after one of the longest hearings on any issue. I did my bit and appealed to the Supreme Court Judges too through an On Line Petition.

In 2019 the Aadhaar Legislation has been revised and passed by the two houses of the Parliament of India making it Legal. I am no Legal Eagle so my Opinion carries no weight except with people opposed to the very concept.

In 2019, this Blog now just captures on a Daily Basis list of Articles Published on anything to do with Aadhaar as obtained from Daily Google Searches and nothing more. Cannot burn the midnight candle any longer.

"In Matters of Conscience, the Law of Majority has no place"- Mahatma Gandhi

Ram Krishnaswamy

Sydney, Australia.

Aadhaar

The UIDAI has taken two successive governments in India and the entire world for a ride. It identifies nothing. It is not unique. The entire UID data has never been verified and audited. The UID cannot be used for governance, financial databases or anything. It’s use is the biggest threat to national security since independence. – Anupam Saraph 2018

When I opposed Aadhaar in 2010 , I was called a BJP stooge. In 2016 I am still opposing Aadhaar for the same reasons and I am told I am a Congress die hard. No one wants to see why I oppose Aadhaar as it is too difficult. Plus Aadhaar is FREE so why not get one ? Ram Krishnaswamy

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.-Mahatma Gandhi

In matters of conscience, the law of the majority has no place.Mahatma Gandhi

“The invasion of privacy is of no consequence because privacy is not a fundamental right and has no meaning under Article 21. The right to privacy is not a guaranteed under the constitution, because privacy is not a fundamental right.” Article 21 of the Indian constitution refers to the right to life and liberty -Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi

“There is merit in the complaints. You are unwittingly allowing snooping, harassment and commercial exploitation. The information about an individual obtained by the UIDAI while issuing an Aadhaar card shall not be used for any other purpose, save as above, except as may be directed by a court for the purpose of criminal investigation.”-A three judge bench headed by Justice J Chelameswar said in an interim order.

Legal scholar Usha Ramanathan describes UID as an inverse of sunshine laws like the Right to Information. While the RTI makes the state transparent to the citizen, the UID does the inverse: it makes the citizen transparent to the state, she says.

Good idea gone bad
I have written earlier that UID/Aadhaar was a poorly designed, unreliable and expensive solution to the really good idea of providing national identification for over a billion Indians. My petition contends that UID in its current form violates the right to privacy of a citizen, guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. This is because sensitive biometric and demographic information of citizens are with enrolment agencies, registrars and sub-registrars who have no legal liability for any misuse of this data. This petition has opened up the larger discussion on privacy rights for Indians. The current Article 21 interpretation by the Supreme Court was done decades ago, before the advent of internet and today’s technology and all the new privacy challenges that have arisen as a consequence.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, MP Rajya Sabha

“What is Aadhaar? There is enormous confusion. That Aadhaar will identify people who are entitled for subsidy. No. Aadhaar doesn’t determine who is eligible and who isn’t,” Jairam Ramesh

But Aadhaar has been mythologised during the previous government by its creators into some technology super force that will transform governance in a miraculous manner. I even read an article recently that compared Aadhaar to some revolution and quoted a 1930s historian, Will Durant.Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Rajya Sabha MP

“I know you will say that it is not mandatory. But, it is compulsorily mandatorily voluntary,” Jairam Ramesh, Rajya Saba April 2017.

August 24, 2017: The nine-judge Constitution Bench rules that right to privacy is “intrinsic to life and liberty”and is inherently protected under the various fundamental freedoms enshrined under Part III of the Indian Constitution

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the World; indeed it's the only thing that ever has"

“Arguing that you don’t care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don’t care about free speech because you have nothing to say.” -Edward Snowden

In the Supreme Court, Meenakshi Arora, one of the senior counsel in the case, compared it to living under a general, perpetual, nation-wide criminal warrant.

Had never thought of it that way, but living in the Aadhaar universe is like living in a prison. All of us are treated like criminals with barely any rights or recourse and gatekeepers have absolute power on you and your life.

Announcing the launch of the # BreakAadhaarChainscampaign, culminating with events in multiple cities on 12th Jan. This is the last opportunity to make your voice heard before the Supreme Court hearings start on 17th Jan 2018. In collaboration with @no2uidand@rozi_roti.

UIDAI's security seems to be founded on four time tested pillars of security idiocy

1) Denial

2) Issue fiats and point finger

3) Shoot messenger

4) Bury head in sand.

God Save India

Thursday, April 7, 2016

9761 - MGNREGA will not suffer due to arrears of last fiscal, clarifies government - TNN

MGNREGA will not suffer due to arrears of last fiscal, clarifies government

TNN | Apr 5, 2016, 08.19 PM IS

Women in Rajasthan at work under MGNREGA. (File photo)

HIGHLIGHTS

Year 2015-16 registered expenditure under MGNREGA to the tune of Rs 41,371cr, which is the highest expenditure under the programme since its inception
Under Direct Benefit Transfer 6.26 crore workers' Aadhaar numbers have been seeded in the programme database out of total 10.4 crore active workers

NEW DELHI: The government has rubbished media reports that performance of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee programme in the current fiscal year will suffer due to arrears of wages of over Rs 8000 crore in 2015-16.

Stating that certain facts in the reports have been highlighted without appreciating the larger picture, the government has clarified that is committed to ensure flow of adequate resources to the programme to fulfil all its objectives.

"Release of funds have been processed to the states/UTs for liquidating the pending liability of wage component (Rs 7983.62 crore). This will not affect the scheme in 2016-17 as funds are also being released for new works planned in 2016-17," says a government release.

The rural development ministry has also highlighted the achievements under the programme in the last fiscal.

"The year 2015-16 has registered expenditure under MGNREGA to the tune of Rs 41,371 crore, which is the highest expenditure under the programme since its inception, the ministry said, adding, "This has allowed for the highest employment generation over the past three years and the best achievement on key parameters over the last three years such as works taken up, women participation (55%) and 95% of payments through electronic fund management system."

In the 2015-16 fiscal, employment provided per household was 48 days, which is the highest in the last six years," the rural development ministry said.

Person days generation is also highest in the last three years i.e. 227 crore so far, it added.

At 95 per cent, the percentage of utilization of person days agreed in the labour budget was also the highest in the last four years, according to the rural development ministry.

The ministry also detailed the steps taken to link payment of wages to workers under the MGNREGA scheme with Aadhaar.

"Under Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), so far 6.26 crore workers' Aadhaar numbers have been seeded in the programme database out of total 10.4 crore active workers. Steps are also being taken to make the Aadhaar based payments to all workers. As of now 2.36 crore workers have been converted to Aadhaar based payments," the ministry said.

Highlighting the contribution of MGNREGA in the drought-affected parts of the country, the ministry of rural development said it strengthened the programme as a concerted response to tackle agrarian distress and meet the demand for work in these areas, creating durable, income generating assets in the process.

"More than 63% of the total expenditure under MGNREGA in 2015-16 was on agriculture and agriculture allied works. This is the highest expenditure in the sector so far. The number of works taken up was 116 lakh with focus on Natural Resource Management (NRM) and water conservation," the ministry has said.

In drought affected regions of ten states, the ministry expanded the entitlement from 100 to 150 days of work to households. 20.48 lakh households in these regions have availed this opportunity and completed more than 100 days of work. At the National level 44 Lakh number of households have completed 100 days so far.

Top Comment

MNREGA is being misused in North India by respective state governments.

Truth Sach

Detailing the road map for 2016-17, the ministry said it will focus on maintaining the momentum gained in employment generation while also streamlining work execution.

"The utilization of the approved labour budget will be achieved, responding to the demand for work across the states. Further, we will be closely monitoring the targets of 5 lakh farm ponds/dug wells and 10 lakh vermi/Nadep composting pits which are expected to create massive irrigation potential in the country and increase income of workers and farmers," the ministry said.

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