Enrolment camps for Aadhaar numbers aim to finish work by month-end

4.71 crore people enrolled so far with Ariyalur topping the chart with 88.8%

Enrolment camps, being held under the National Population Register (NPR) for Aadhaar numbers, will be wound up in the State by December 31.

Conducted by the Directorate of Census Operations (Tamil Nadu) with the help of local officials of the State Government and local bodies, the camps have so far covered around 70 per cent of the eligible population, according to M.R.V. Krishna Rao, Joint Director of the Directorate of Census Operations (Tamil Nadu), the nodal agency for NPR.

At the camps, bio-metric details of people aged five years and above are being captured.

The details such as iris scans and 10 fingerprints of every person are collected, apart from their photograph.

Only through the enrolment camps of the NPR that residents of the State can now get Aadhaar numbers.

Of the 6.74 crore people to be covered, 4.71 crore people had been enrolled. Around 3.53 crore people had been assigned Aadhaar numbers.

Except in Chennai where the coverage of the population is around 52.7 per cent, 31 districts have got enrolment performance varying from 60 per cent to 80 per cent.

The highest of 88.8 per cent is in Ariyalur followed by 81.9 per cent in Nagapattinam and 78.78 per cent in Ramanathapuram.

While 20 districts have exceeded 70 per cent and more in terms of coverage, 11 districts are in the range of 60 per cent to 70 per cent.

However, an official of the State Revenue Department, which coordinates with the Census authorities, says focused attention would be paid to 12 districts including Chennai in the coming weeks.

By the end of this month, a decision would be taken whether the period for enrolment camps should be extended beyond December 31.

Linking subsidies to Aadhaar number

In Ariyalur, starting from tomorrow for a week, the authorities are going to undertake a drive to bring under the Aadhaar fold those who are receiving subsidised cooking gas cylinders. As part of the drive, even those who have not yet received Aadhaar numbers and who have been left out of the NPR enrolment will be covered.

The Union Government has also planned to roll out the scheme of Direct Benefits Transfer to 24 other districts, Mr. Rao adds.