Aadhaar Card target

It is very unfortunate and disgusting that Assam has once again missed its target of Aadhaar card enrollment of the projected population in the state. Going by what this newspaper reported on the front page in its Sunday edition, the overall Aadhaar enrollment in Assam has been only around 38 per cent till December 2020. Quoting official sources, the news-item has said that the General Administration Department of the Government of Assam had fixed the target of December 31, 2020 for Aadhaar enrollment of a projected population of 3.30 crore. But, the reality is that, till December 3, 2020, only about 1.31 crore people have been actually enrolled. This means, when most states of the country have achieved nearly 100 per cent enrollment, Assam has projected a very poor picture of enrolling only about 37.04 per cent of the projected 3.30 crore population in the State. While it is soon going to be mandatory for very citizen to avail the benefits of various Central government schemes and programmes as well as for various other purposes, the lackadaisical attitude of the Government of Assam is definitely going to seriously affect the people, particularly those belonging to the economically and socially backward and weaker categories. What is even more alarming is the report that a section of unscrupulous elements has been duping gullible applicants by issuing them 'duplicate' cards by taking advantage of the situation. According to the news-story, Assam has been lagging behind in Aadhaar enrollment due to the shortage of biometric collection machines and the fewer number of enrollment centres in operation, besides the lack of adequate number of vendors engaged for the purpose. If this is really true, then it is for Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal to find some time out of his pre-election busy schedule and devote some time to find out the actual gaps, take up the issue with the Centre, and also pull up the erring officials who are found to be responsible and guilty of the problem. It has been stated that in October 2020 itself, the General Administration Department had instructed the Deputy Commissioners to engage more suitable vendors in addition to the existing ones in order to speed up the enrollment process. It is important to note that the Aadhaar card can be used for a number of purposes, making it a universally acceptable government-issued card, without needing to register or apply for a separate card for each of these services. For example, an Aadhar card can be used as proof of identity, proof of address as well as proof of age when applying for any government service. In this way, it is a very versatile card, as it can be used for all government related services and programme. One of the most important uses of Aadhar card is that it permits the holder to avail of all government subsidies he/she is eligible for. Since the government already has all the necessary data on a particular individual, they need only produce their Aadhaar card in order to avail of the various subsidies or programmes. The government has so far introduced schemes whereby the Aadhar card can be linked to a bank account and LPG connection so that individuals can receive their LPG subsidy directly into their bank accounts. This also negates the possibility of the funds being misappropriated or of individuals making fraudulent claims in order to claim benefits. An Aadhar card is an essential document when it comes to KYC, verification, and identification purposes. The acquisition of a passport can be a daunting endeavour as it requires plenty of time. Obtaining a passport includes getting an appointment with the authorities, processing your application, dispatching of the passport and police verification checks. It usually takes multiple weeks to complete all processes and avail a passport, but thanks to the increased uses of an Aadhar card, the process of obtaining a passport can be now expedited. Other procedures like Digital Life certificate for pensioners, disbursement of providend fund etc have also become simpler and easier because of the Aadhaar Card. Given this reality, there is no reason why the people of Assam should be deprived of enrolling their names for Aadhaar cards.