The Hindu                       15.04.2013

Apply for ‘Aadhaar’ under NPR

Octogenarian P. Avudiappan of TVS Nagar is anxious
about getting the ‘Aadhaar’ card. Bearing the sweltering afternoon heat
on April 11, he went to enrol his name at a special camp conducted by
the Madurai Corporation at Annai Teresa Nursing College and after a long
wait in the queue he managed to get his identity captured by the
biometric machine.

The 88-year-old man was one among
the hundreds of people who have made use of the opportunity to submit
their biometric and demographic data.

“We were told
that there will be benefits for us if we get this card. Our area
councillor informed us about the enrolment camp and five members from my
family have registered now,” he says while leaving happily with an
acknowledgment slip of Unique Identification Authority of India.
Enrolment centres were buzzing with activity as families hurried up to
utilise the chance. There were many who got their doubts clarified from
the staff.

A. Justin Sahayaraj, who is coordinating
the enrolment process for Madurai Corporation, was at the spot to guide
the public about National Identity Card.

“The first
phase of enrolment is over now and we have covered all the 100 wards in
Madurai based on the 2010 population census data. Those who are not
covered will be enrolled in the second phase to be launched during May,”
he says.

After collating the data, the enrolment
list will be finally verified by officials after which it would be
displayed at various centres in every ward so that the residents can
check if the particulars are correctly entered. After completing this
process, the Bharat Electronics will issue ‘Aadhaar’ number and Resident
Identity Card would be issued.

The National
Population Register (NPR) has been taken as the basis for identity card
enrolment and the Directorate of Census Operations is implementing the
project in Tamil Nadu. Residents were asked to take the census
acknowledgment slip given to them by enumerators at the time of taking
population census in 2010.

There are doubts
persisting in the minds of those who already got Aadhaar card through
special camps conducted by private players earlier. For them, the
officials say that these people will have to apply again under the NPR
to get a fresh identity card. So, in effect, if the card is obtained not
through census data, then it is invalid.

Residents
who are above five years of age can enrol for the identity card.
Fingerprints of 10 fingers and two iris images are captured and
recorded. After registering the particulars, a printout will be given
immediately.

“We have covered 70 per cent of
population in Madurai Corporation and the leftover people will be
covered in the second phase. Our estimate is that another 30,000
families are yet to enrol for Resident Identity Card,” says Sahayaraj.

Sanitary
inspectors, assistant revenue officers and bill collectors of the civic
body received training last week for enrolment process. They will take
the second phase forward from May. After ensuring that there is no
duplication, the identity card with 12-digit Aadhaar number will be
issued. For that, residents have to wait at least for one year since the
process has to be completed at national level.

M.S.
Ramakrishnan of Alagappa Nagar has an appeal to the corporation
authorities to take ration card into account instead of insisting on
bringing the census acknowledgment given in the year 2010.

“Many
people have missed that slip and where can we search now. Moreover, the
process should be easy and it looks as if one day is not enough to
register for Aadhaar card,” he laments.

Those who
want to know about National Identity Card camps and how to obtain
Resident Identity Card with Aadhaar number can contact the Corporation
coordinator Mr.Sahayaraj on mobile number- 94434-73642.