On Aadhaar system, the dead live on

It’s not easy to deactivate Aadhaar card of the dead

December 22, 2016 03:46 am | Updated 09:37 am IST - HYDERABAD:

Getting an Aadhaar card was never this easy. There is a system in place even for the newborns to get enrolled for Aadhaar validation in twin cities. But, the same cannot be said about the the dead who want to get off the Aadhaar database. Right from the government officials to the people, confusion and misinformation prevails on how to invalidate the Aadhaar details of a person who is no more.

A quick search on the portal of the UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India) does not mention any process on how to apply for deletion of an Aadhaar card holder’s data. Offline too, there is no direct way to put forward the request.

“Such an application has to come to us from the State government,” said MVS Rami Reddy, Deputy Director General, Hyderabad Regional Office, UIDAI. “The GHMC or the Gram Panchayats can inform us about the details of the dead person. We will deactivate the Aadhaar number of that person.

After which this unique number will not be allotted to anyone else.”

According to Mr. Reddy, the guidelines to remove the Aadhaar details of an expired person have been issued recently because of which the awareness levels are low among the public.

Enquiries with the GHMC and Gram Panchayat officials revealed that they are clueless about the subject.

“We did not get any formal instructions to accept applications related to the dead person and send it to the UIDAI,” said a senior official of the Health and Sanitation wing of the GHMC.

“We issue death certificates based on the information sent by the hospitals or by the family of the dead. Even if someone approaches us to get his or her Aadhaar details deleted with the help of a death certificate, we are unsure on how to process it.”

Another senior official of the GHMC said, “If we are asked to deal with such applications, then it will be a complicated process.

If a migrant worker dies in the city, we can issue a death certificate. But to collect his Aadhaar information and contacting the local UIDAI office of his State will take a lot of time and effort.”

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