Mira-Bhayandar in Aadhaar conundrum

Mumbai: While the deadline for linking the 12 digit Aadhaar with bank accounts, permanent account numbers (PAN), mobile numbers, public provident fund (PPF), national savings certificates (NSCs) and insurance policies is fast approaching, residents of Mira-Bhayandar are running from pillar to post to get themselves registered. Reason being 10 out the 12 enrolment centres recently designated by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) are yet to commence operations.

To curb cases of overcharging and ensure that all enrolments, even those by private agencies, come under the direct supervision of authorities, Aadhaar-issuing authority UIDAI had asked states to accommodate external sites within government or municipal premises. Subsequently, the Mira-Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) suggested 32 municipal properties, including ward offices, hospitals, schools, civic headquarters and community buildings where enrolment centres could be set up. However, only 12 were approved, out of which a mere two are in a position to provide services by UIDAI’s empanelled enrolment agency.

Sanjay Khandare, a representative of the UIDAI empanelled agency, said, “Armed with personnel and the needed electronic apparatus, our entire mechanism is ready at all the remaining centres. We are only waiting for the required code (credential file) from UIDAI to begin our job.” Ironically, senior officials of the MBMC, which is the nodal agency for the project, feigned ignorance in context to Aadhaar’s latest statistical records.

As per UIDAI records, as on January 31, 2017, the twin-city had a population of 856,079, out of which, 755,764 had got their Aadhaar accounts activated i.e. 88.28 per cent.  However, with the estimated population of the region currently hovering around 12 lakh, nearly 30 per cent people are yet to register for Aadhaar.