There seems to be no drop in the degree of interest shown by people of Tamil Nadu towards getting enrolled under the National Population Register (NPR) for ‘Aadhaar” numbers.
Immediately after the Supreme Court’s order in the third week of September, directing the Union government not to tie provision of subsidies or benefits with “Aadhaar” numbers, there were reports of low turn-out of people at enrolment camps.
“We have found that the people’s interest has gone up,” says M. R. V. Krishna Rao, Joint Director of the Directorate of Census Operations (Tamil Nadu), the nodal agency for NPR
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In October, about 23 lakh persons were enrolled in the State under the NPR.
The Revenue official points out that a perusal of the data of enrolment since July reveals that on an average, four per cent of the population is covered every month.
As on Monday (November 11), 4.56 crore people have been enrolled, accounting for about 67 per cent of the targeted population of 6.74 crore [which is five years and above].
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In Tamil Nadu, those who do enrolment under the NPR are assigned “Aadhaar” numbers. So far, “Aadhaar” numbers have been generated for 3.2 crore enrolled people.
Of 32 districts in the State, 18 have crossed the 70-per cent-mark in coverage of people for enrolment. Ariyalur and Nagapattinam districts have recorded over 80 per cent mark.
In 29 districts, the authorities are now carrying out the second round of enrolment.
Even though Coimbatore was considered to be a poor performer five months ago, the district has picked up since then. So far, around 71 per cent of the people – about 23 lakh – have been enrolled. Mr. Rao says that the high degree of interest of local people and the administration are responsible for the district’s performance.
Three districts lagging behind others are Tirupur, Tiruvallur and Chennai. While Tirupur has achieved about 53.5 per cent coverage, Tiruvallur and Chennai have registered around 49 per cent and 47.6 per cent respectively.
As for Chennai, compared to what it was in mid-June with four per cent coverage, the city’s performance too has shown a substantial progress. Till now, around 19.8 lakh persons have enrolled themselves.
The Joint Director adds that the camps will go on till the end of December.
In Chennai, as done in other districts, there will be one more round of enrolment, which will be carried out with a limited strength of manpower and other resources.