Relax, Aadhaar enrolment is set to become a lot easier in the coming days.
The State e-Governance department, the registrar to enrol residents for issuing the unique identity number in Karnataka, has decided to conduct enrolment at your doorsteps. Community-based enrolment drive will soon be launched in Bangalore and other cities.
All those who identify themselves as a community, have to place a request to the department to conduct a community-based drive, at their place. The department will set up an enrolment station at any place, proposed by the community, and conduct the process free of cost.
“A community can be residents living in an apartment, or a group of apartments, or residents welfare associations, or local private organisations. But it should comprise at least a 100 members. All that we need is a room with power connection point, to set up a temporary enrolment centre,” Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for e-Governance D S Ravindran said.
The department has commenced Aadhaar enrolment drive in 14 districts, including Mysore and Tumkur, of the State. The enrolment will start in about a month in the remaining 16 districts. As much as 90 per cent of enrolment is completed in Mysore and Tumkur, where the department conducted the drive on a pilot basis.
The enrolment work has been outsourced. Integral Micro Systems and Wirth have bagged the contract to enrol people in Bangalore urban district. Glodyne Technoserve Limited is enrolling people in Belgaum division, while TERASOFT has been allotted the Gulbarga division.
The department is paying
Rs 41.50 for every successful enrolment in Belgaum and Gulbarga divisions, while, it is Rs 40.50 per enrolment in Bangalore urban district.
Citizens, especially in Bangalore, are worried as how to get themselves enrolled. While working population has not been able to find time, senior citizens are finding it difficult to stand in the long, agonising queues. Presently, there are only 133 centres in Bangalore.
Not bothered
It was for this reason, large chunk of population in the State capital have not bothered to enrol their names in the voters’ list and get electoral photo identity cards (EPICs). The EPIC per centage in Bangalore is just around 60 per cent.
Learning lessons from the ‘EPIC mess’ in Bangalore, the department has drawn up a programme to conduct an intensive drive to enrol people under the Aadhaar project not only in the State capital, but across all urban centres of the State. It has planned to increase the number of enrolment centres from 133 to 1,100 in Bangalore alone. These include - both permanent and temporary centres. Besides the day centres and community centres, the department will be setting up night enrolment centres and institutional centres, including private companies, to prevent long queues and rush, Ravindran said.
Enrolment through institutional centres has already begun in Bangalore. Centres have been set up at WIPRO campus, IISc and BSNL. “Employees are finding this method very convenient to get enrolled. Similarly, Bangalore has over 300 resident welfare associations. And there are associations in almost all residential apartments across the City. We want to target a major portion of the population through these methods, the CEO said.
This apart, the e-Governance department will shortly launch appointment-based enrolments. For this, a 24/7 toll free call centre will be set up. People can fix an appointment by calling the call centre for enrolment.
Ravindran said the present drive will be done for six months and about 90 per cent of population will be covered by then. However, the department will continue the enrolment. Permanent centres will be set up in strategic locations, so that those who are left out can enrol.
Cause for concern
However, there has been a delay in issuing the unique identity numbers. Nearly 60 per cent of those enrolled in Mysore and Tumkur districts are yet to receive their numbers.
The Central data processing centre of the Unique Identity Authority of India (UIDAI) is yet to increase its capacity. Hence, the delay. The UIDAI is taking steps to issue the numbers quickly, Ravindran said.
What if the UID card has errors?
Update centres will be set up once the enrolment drive is over. One can get the errors, if any, rectified at these centres.
News you can use
Request for a community centre can be placed at ceoceg@karnataka.gov.in
Phone No: 2237 3840 / 2237 1089
More information on Aadhaar can be obtained at www.karnataka.gov. in/nammaaadhaar/locations.html