Aadhaar process to commence from August

* 1,241 Aadhaar enrolment centres

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI, July 4: The Aadhaar implementation process in the State is all set to be taken up in full throttle during the last part of August, soon after the publication of the complete draft NRC as set by the Supreme Court on July 30.

The decision to this effect has been taken at the recent meeting of the State Aadhaar Implementation Committee headed by the Chief Secretary, TY Das. While discussing the various aspects connected with this important move, the meeting laid a special thrust on giving a boost to the process which has already got delayed.

Aadhaar is a 12-digit unique identification number issued by the Indian government to every individual resident of India. Already, the UDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India) has declared GAD (General Administration Department) of the Government of Assam as the State Register in this regard.

Altogether 20 firms responded to the ‘Request for Bid’ floated by the General Administration Department. Now, the GAD would be seeking ‘work plans’ from the shortlisted firms. And the respective firms would be given the work order only after the Department is satisfied with the blueprints of the selected firms.

For proper implementation of Aadhaar, the entire State has been divided into 10 zones. As of now, there are 1,241 Aadhaar enrolment centres where people can go to get themselves enrolled in the Aadhaar process. However, the recent meeting of the State Aadhaar Implementation Committee also discussed the need (if required) to increase the number of such centres. The personnel who would be verifying the documents at these centres would be government employees.

It may be mentioned that the Supreme Court had earlier set 31 March 2018 as the deadline for Aadhaar implementation. Now the date has been extended till March 2019.

Till date, only 10 per cent of the total population has been covered in the Aadhaar implementation process in Assam.