In spite of the Aadhaar card being viewed as a pivotal document to prove one’s identity and in ensuring that one is indeed a citizen of India, Aadhaar enrollment in Assam is abysmally low.

The Aadhaar is a 12-digit random number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to eliminate duplication of fake identities.

G Plus took stock of issues that Guwahatians’ face while enrolling for Aadhaar. The major concern raised was the lack of official enrollment centres or Aadhaar Seva Kendras. It is to be mentioned that due to dearth of the government’s initiatives in promotions and advertisements many citizens are still unaware of the presence of these centres.

A citizen waiting in his bank branch to get enrolled said, “To enroll for an Aadhaar card, one has to visit an enrollment centre accredited by UIDAI. A common enrollment centre that most people frequent to get the Aadhaar is their local bank. However, it has come to notice that various banks in the city are creating a hassle for the public and not allowing them to complete the procedure for enrollment in a professional manner.”
Many banks have asked the citizens to open accounts with that particular branch for enrolling in their centres.

Here’s the list of official Aadhaar enrollment centres in Guwahati as given by the office of the Deputy Commissioner (DC), Kamrup (Metro).

Sl. No	Centre Address	Status
1	O/o The sub-Divisional Welfare officer, Hatigoan
2	O/o The Civil Defense, Beltola
3	Office of the Asstt Director of Sericulture, Khanapara	Active
4	Office of the Director of Police, Ulubari	Active
5	Office of the DFO, Genetic Cell Division, Basistha	Active
6	Office of the Executive Engineer, River Research (Aadhaar Center-I),NH 27 Bashistha	Active
7	Office of the Director of Forensic Science, Kahilipara
8	Office of the Executive Engineer, PWD(B) Circle II, Dispur
9	Assam Engineering College, Jalukbari
10	Police Reserve, Paltan Bazaar	Active
11	Office of the Superintendent Engineer, PWD(B) Circle II, Chandmari	Active
12	Office of the Executive Engineer, Water Resource. West Division, Bharalumukh	Active
13	Office of the Asstt. Director Handloom &Textiles, Ambari	Active
14	Office of the Principal, Assam Survey & Settlement Training Center, Dakhingaon	Active
15	Headquarter of CID,Ulubari
16	0/o the Superintendent,Town Milk Supply Scheme
17	0/o the Electrical Officer, NF Railway,(Maligaon)	Active
18	0/o the Inspector of Schools,Guwahati
19	Directorate of Medical Education
20	O/o the AGM,Guwahati Electrical Division (North)
21	O/o the Executive Engineer,Store & Workshop Division
22	Directorate of Health Services, Assam
23	0/o the Director, Employment and Craftsman Training
24	GAD	Active
25	High Court, Guwahati	Active
26	DC Office, Kamrup Metro, Panbazar	Active
27	Gauhati Unlversity, Jalukbari	Active
28	Office of the CE0, GCC-1, APDCL (LAR), Ulubarl	Active
29	Under Dimoria, Development Block, Tetelia GP	Active
30	Under Dimoria, Development Block, Topatali GP	Active
31	Under Dimoria, Development Block, Dhupguri GP	Active
32	Under Dimoria, Development Block,BDO Office	Active
33	Under Dimoria, Development Block,Kamarkuchi GP	Active
34	Under Dimoria, Development Block, Khetri GP	Active
35	Under Dimoria, Development Block, Sonapur GP	Active
36	Under Chandrapur Development Block, Amsing	Active
37	Under Chandrapur Development Block, Chandrapur
38	Under Chandrapur Development Block, Panikhaiti	Active
39	Under Rani Development Block, Azara	Active
40	Under Rani Development Block, Dharapur	Active
41	Under Rani Development Block, Garal
42	Under Bezera Development Block, Lachitgarh	Active
43	Under Rani Development Block, Khaikuchi
44	Office of the Employee Provident Fund , Bhangagarh	Active

In the meantime, many people have claimed that their Aadhaar registrations were put on hold and could not be checked online. It has also to be mentioned that enrollments was kept on hold due to updation of National Register of Citizens (NRC) 1951.

Megha Pandey, a resident of Kalapahar said, “I have applied multiple times for my Aadhaar. The first time the bank asked me to open an account with them. Later when I completed the process at an Aadhaar Kendra, it was not approved. Now the status result shows that my enrollment got rejected due to technical issues but also mentions that I should not reapply. I am not sure what to do next after this harrowing experience.”

Speaking to G Plus, Biswajit Pegu, DC Kamrup (M) said, “New Aadhaar enrollments were put on as many devices, those for scanning fingerprints and iris, were shifted to the NRC registration offices. But now things have been brought back to place and regular registrations are going on.”

It was earlier reported that work on Aadhaar registrations came to a halt as the employees stopped working owing to non-payment of salaries. Sources at the DC Kamrup (M) informed that one of the agencies, M/S Balaji Construction Pvt Ltd that had been allotted the work had not cleared the payments of its employees. He further said, “Many irregularities have been found in their mode of work, so we have taken up the issue with higher authorities and would be relieving them soon.”

Earlier, the income Tax Department had informed that Permanent Account Number (PAN) will become inoperative if it is not linked with Aadhaar by March 31, 2020.

Moreover, customers’ bank accounts are also to be linked to their Aadhaar.

However, a bank official said, “The Aadhaar enrollment is an ongoing process. And the process has started rather late in Assam with the problems of NRC going on. Although many agencies and institutions ask for Aadhaar, we have informed authorities that the process would take some time for the people of Assam and they are usually considered.”

It has to be mentioned that the State Bank of India had launched a spot Aadhaar enrollment drive during its three-day-long Financial Inclusion Outreach Initiative for North East from February 26 to 28 at Veterinary Science Playground at Khanapara.

Chief General Manager of SBI, North Eastern Circle, Sunil Kumar Tandon had earlier informed that there are 10 Aadhaar enrollment booths and the drives are being conducted from 11 am to 6 pm.

When the G Plus team approached the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) Regional Office, the statutory authority on Aadhaar, for seeking for basic information on the number of Aadhaar centres in the city and other registration processes, the officials refused to cooperate or give any information stating that all such information may be procured from UIDAI, New Delhi.

---

Retired state govt employees fail to withdraw provident fund without Aadhaar details

Although the government of India has made it a mandate to enroll Aadhaar across the country, the process is yet to gain pace in the state of Assam.

Speaking to G Plus a retired state government employee said, "I worked with the state government for the past 35 years. Back then there was no Aadhaar. Now when I want to withdraw the Provident Fund money via online they are asking for Aadhaar card."

"I know the entire process has become easy and it is only with a click of a button we can get our money back. But with limited enrollment centres, it has become an obstacle."

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court in its order dated March 14, 2018 has extended the deadline of linking Aadhaar with bank accounts, PAN and other financial services indefinitely till the legality of it is decided.

• Guwahati
• News
• Aadhaar
• Unique Identification Authority of India
• UIDAI
• Assam