69% of TN population covered

Chennai: Ariyalur, Nagapattinam and Ramanathapuram may be some of the neglected areas in various aspects. But when it comes to Aadhar card enrolment, these districts have become role models, by enumerating 80 per cent of the districts’ population.

Other important places like Chennai, Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram remain considerably low in biometric enrolment. However, the enumeration process in these places started only in late 2012 unlike in Ariyalur, where enumeration began in January 2012.

According to official data available with this newspaper, around 69 per cent of the target population in Tamil Nadu have been covered in the biometric enumeration i.e., 4.67 crore people have been covered, of which 3.37 crore have been given Aadhar numbers.

Chennai stands with 51 per cent completion in enrolment, bringing up the rear, preceded by Tiruvallur at 57 per cent and Tirupur at 60 per cent. “We are trying to reach out to the people by every means and spread awareness about Aadhar cards,” said a senior official at the census operations department.

“Even the Supreme Court’s statement saying that Aadhar cards are not important for availing of subsidies did not prevent people from enrolling for Aadhar. In fact, the public patronage has increased in the recent past,” the official added, noting that the latest demand was from Madurai, asking for 10,000 more forms.

“I feel that getting an Aadhar card is always important and an additional identity for me. I fell secure having the card with me,” said R. Govindaraj, a resident of Kundrathur.

When asked about some allegations by contract operators working at the biometric centres in Chennai that they have not been paid for months, the official said contracts of a few companies were cancelled following the complaints. “Some have one month delays in salaries, but we are keeping a close watch on irregularities,” he added.

Next: No online registration:?Experts

No online registration:?Experts

Chennai: A Chennaiite who was visibly frustrated at one of the Aadhar registration centres when the counter remained closed for half the day due to technical snags, said, “Why don’t they make it online and save us the hassle.”

DC took the nib and spoke to census department officials and cyber experts on the feasibility of such an option and the recurring concerns of security of this mammoth data.
A senior official with the census department says, “The Aadhar identity card is a unique and confidential ID which includes iris, retina scan and fingerprints. Such information cannot be transferred online as there are chances of data leakage or the system getting hacked.”

“The whole registration cannot be done online because there is physical validation of IDs that is imperative to the whole registration process. If people do not have any of the necessary IDs, they are being asked to get one and then apply,” says Dr B. Muthukumaran DGM of Institute of Technology Man­agement and Research. Duplication and safety of the data were other points lying heavily on the minds of the people. 

Officials with the census department said, “The system looks into cases of duplication. If a person registers in more than one place, the system de-duplicates by itself.”

Dr Muthukumaran adds, “There is a need for integration between various agencies who are collecting biometric data. Today, licence and passport authorities also collect biometric data. Therefore, if the data is integrated, it will save a lot of trouble.” State officials say that there are plans to integrate the data with that of ration cards.

Dr Muthukumaran says, “In the US, there are regular drills at data collection centres but I have not come across any such drill in the country and all of them have secondary electricity lines in case one fails. And what makes us more vulnerable is the lack of a data privacy Act, making it almost impossible for holding people accountable in case of loss of data.”

Next: Camps will continue till last person gets ID

Camps will continue till last person gets ID

D. Senthil Natarajan | DC

Chennai: Leaping over confusions, questions and doubts, Aadhar enrolment in Chennai city has covered half of the enumerated population. Around 21.21 lakh people underwent biometric enrolment of which 11.71 lakh have generated Aadhar numbers.

“There are three options which follow biometric enrolment. You may receive an SMS or e-mail following which you can take a printout of the card from the Net,” said M.R.V. Krishna Rao, joint director, census operations.

“The third option is when the form gets rejected and once again the person must go to a nearby camp for another form,” he added. To check the status of the card, the public can visit www.uidai.gov.in and enter their Aadhar PIN to know the status of their application.

However, Chennai corporation, for its side, has ensured that it would conduct camps till every single person gets covered under the Aadhar scheme. “The special camps would be conducted once 80 per cent of the population is covered,” said a corporation official at the Ripon Building.

“Many people still seek new NPR (National Population Registry) forms and chaos erupts at times. Better coordination is required between the corporation and census department,” said a corporation field official at Kodambakkam.

“We have 270 operators across Chennai who take the biometric readings. And we are planning to recruit 400 more to speed up work,” said Krishna Rao. “So far, the corporation has been cooperating well with us. It should also put in place more enumerators to issue new forms and guide the public,” he added.

“We are also being very lenient towards the public: if one has not enrolled under the NPR taken in 2010, he or she can fill up a new form available in the zonal offices and get the job done,” he noted.