Legislators upset with Aadhaar centres

The company handling the centres to be questioned

March 29, 2015 12:00 am | Updated 05:43 am IST - MANGALURU:

District in-charge Minister B. Ramanatha Rai, at the Karnataka Development Programme review meeting at Netravathi Hall in Mangaluru on Monday.— Photo: H.S. Manjunath

District in-charge Minister B. Ramanatha Rai, at the Karnataka Development Programme review meeting at Netravathi Hall in Mangaluru on Monday.— Photo: H.S. Manjunath

A Karnataka Development Programme (KDP) Review meeting here on Saturday decided to summon senior officials from Bengaluru responsible for Aadhaar registration after legislators pointed out that there is a mess at the registration counters.

Raising the issue, Ivan D’Souza, MLC, said that at some counters, people would have to stand in queue from 4 a.m. to get the tokens. People allege that touts take away the tokens to make some quick money.

Deputy Commissioner A.B. Ibrahim said Aadhaar registration was being done via 27 computers at different places in the district.

He said that 79 per cent of the population in the district had registered to get Aadhaar cards.

Mr. Ibrahim threw up his hands saying that he did not have any control over employees of the private company entrusted with Aadhaar registration at three places in the district, including on the ground floor of the Mangaluru City Corporation building, at Puttur and B.C. Road where the company has a total of seven computers — two each in Puttur and B.C. Road centres, and three at the corporation building centre.

The complaints were mainly against this company. Mangalore One centres, under the Department of Information Technology, Science and Technology and Biotechnology, have reserved a computer each at Lalbagh, Light House Hill, Kadri and Surathkal for registration.

In addition, registration was being done through 16 computers at Nada Kacheri offices being managed by revenue officials.

He said that as revenue officials had to attend to both the works it would take at least three years to cover the balance 21 per cent of population, the meeting was told.

J.R. Lobo, MLA, Mangaluru City South, who supported Mr. D’Souza’s views, said that senior officials of the department in charge of Aadhaar registration and the company executives who have been entrusted with the task, should be summoned.

A meeting should be held shortly to sort out all issues. District in-charge Minister B. Ramanath Rai agreed to it.

Ivan D’Souza, MLC, alleged here on Saturday that some schools were insisting that students should produce Aadhaar cards to get hall tickets to appear for examinations.

At a Karnataka Development Programme review meeting here, he said that this had created confusions among parents. Walter D’Mello, Deputy Director of Public Instruction, said that his department had not issued any such direction to schools and Aadhaar card was not needed to get hall tickets.

But some schools have indeed insisted for it. Father of a student residing at Kodical showed The Hindu an SMS sent by a school in Lady Hill to him. It read: “Dear Parent, kindly send your ward’s Aadhaar card photocopy on March 16 (Monday) without fail.” The message had been sent on March 14.

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