AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 13490 - Aadhaar seeding ‘scam’ in Food Dept

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

Tuesday, May 8, 2018

13490 - Aadhaar seeding ‘scam’ in Food Dept - The Tribune India

THE TRIBUNE EXCLUSIVE

Aadhaar seeding ‘scam’ in Food Dept

Ration cards with UID numbers of those not entitled to benefits come to light

Sushil Manav

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 7

A huge “scam” involving Aadhaar seeding of a large number of ration cards with unique identity (UID) numbers of those not entitled to subsidised ration has come to light in the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department.

Department Director Sanjeev Verma has requested the National Informatics Centre (NIC) to block the e-KYC functionality issued in user IDs of all Assistant Food and Supplies Officers (AFSOs) and Inspectors as their complicity is being suspected.

Sources said the Sirsa DFSC flagged the matter when he stated in a letter dated April 30 that ration had been drawn against a large number of ration cards not seeded with Aadhaar by mentioning wrong UID numbers allegedly in connivance with officials.

The revelation put under the scanner nearly 15.11 lakh beneficiaries who had been added in the past one year. The state government had claimed that after Aadhaar seeding of ration cards, 42 lakh of the 1.37 crore beneficiaries had been eliminated.

The department feared that many of the 15.11 lakh beneficiaries added after May 12 last year could be fake, using the Aadhaar numbers of some other persons not eligible for subsidised ration.

Elaborating the modus operandi, the sources said the state had 26.64 lakh cardholders with 1.37 crore beneficiaries. As on May 12 last, 41.99 lakh beneficiaries were termed as eliminated as they did not get Aadhaar seeding of their ration cards.

However, data of these beneficiaries was not removed from the system, leaving it up to junior officials to include any eliminated ration card in the list by mentioning an Aadhaar number against it.

The sources said the Sirsa DSFC had revealed that certain officials, in connivance with junior programmers and fair price shop owners, had given Aadhaar seeding to a large number of unseeded ration cards by mentioning UID numbers of other persons to siphon off subsidised wheat.

The demand for subsided wheat came down from 6.6 lakh quintal per month to 4.9 lakh quintal on May 12 last. However, the demand had gone up to 5.3 lakh quintal per month after seeding.

Verma said that he had taken the matter very seriously and asked the Sirsa DFSC to provide specific details and lodge an FIR against those involved in the “scam”.

“I have constituted a committee comprising Guru Prasad, Senior Technical Director, NIC, Haryana, and Subhash Sharma, consultant in the department, to look into the matter and suggest whether bulk authentication of ration cards was needed,” he said.

Verma said the government would come down heavily on the guilty if any irregularity was proved, but could not stop Aadhaar seeding to genuine beneficiaries who had been left out due to some reason. He was not certain at this stage whether there was a “scam” or all 15.11 beneficiaries were genuine.

15.11 lakh beneficiaries under scanner

On May 12 last year, 41.99 lakh subsidised ration beneficiaries termed as eliminated for not getting Aadhaar seeding of their ration cards
Data not removed from the system, leaving it up to junior officials to include eliminated ration cards by mentioning Aadhaar numbers
Certain officials, junior programmers, fair price shop owners give Aadhaar seeding to many ration cards with UID numbers of others
Demand for subsided wheat, down from 6.6 lakh quintal per month to 4.9 lakh quintal on May 12 last, now 5.3 lakh quintal a month