Aadhaar

Aadhaar or Andhera

Will Aadhaar scheme introduced by the Govt.bring andhera (darkness) in this festive season of light to us who are yet to get their Aadhaar cards by depriving us of our legitimate quota of subsidised LPG cylinders? When the scheme was announced some years back we were given to understand that Aadhaar card will be an unique identification card replacing all the existing ID cards and Aadhaar card holders will not require any other documents to prove their identity and nationality and it will be accepted by all Govt. and non Govt. organisations. A high powered authority was formed headed by an eminent I.T. expert who was given the status of a Central Minister to roll out the scheme. However as the years rolled on doubts were being expressed about the acceptability of this card by the banks and other organisations and some ministries in the Central Govt. It soon became apparent that Aadhaar will not be a replacement of the other ID documents but an addition to the existing ones.

Then came the announcement of the Government’s grandiose plan to release various Govt. subsidies meant for the poorest of poor (BPL category people) to the beneficiaries direct through their bank accounts. In this proposed scheme of things it was decided that Aadhaar card being a bio metrical card which can not be forged will be used to identify the beneficiaries eligible for the subsidies.

So far so good for urban middle class people like us who were not eligible for subsidies meant for BPl category people and were having already other I.D.cards to prove their identifications wherever required. We were therefore not concerned about the difficulties that the poorest of poor will face in getting their Aadhaar nos, opening accounts in banks and the complex process of linking their Aadhaar nos. to their bank accounts.

Then came the bomb shell for us when the Govt. curtailed the number of subsidised LPG cylinders to be provided in a year to 6 (later raised to 9) and further compounded our problems by coolly announcing that the subsidy portion of the cylinder will be credited to the bank accounts linked to the Aadhaar numbers of the consumers. This means that those of us not having Aadhaar cards will not get the benefit of LPG subsidy. Not withstanding the Supreme Court’s interim judgement that Aadhaar is not compulsory for getting the benefit of  social sector subsidies like the LPG subsidies, the Govt. is going ahead with almost missionary zeal in instructing the various oil companies to implement the Aadhaar linked release of LPG subsidy scheme from different dates in different districts without showing matching concern for the need to ensure that all consumers get their Aadhaar cards and get them linked to their respective bank accounts well in advance. There is every possibility that the scheme instead of preventing the leakage of subsidy, the purpose for which the scheme was conceived will actually deprive large number of genuine consumers of the benefit of subsidy to which they are entitled.

The recent press report of West Bengal Chief Minister expressing her displeasure in the matter and her reported writing to the Prime Minister is a silver lining against the backdrop of shadow of uncertainty engulfing those not having Aadhaar numbers. Her remark that centre can not do away the LPG subsidy till all consumers get their Aadhaar numbers and  if need be her boys will gherao IOC offices should be music to the ears of those who are yet to know how to go about in getting their Aadhaar numbers. Her suggestion that centre should provide lockers to the citizens to keep their various cards can not be brushed aside as a mere joke  because of the hassles the common men face in getting various cards to satisfy the requirements of the various authorities.