UID project takes off from Vadodara

One of the agencies,Bangalore-based Team Lifecare Co. Ind (PVT) Ltd,has begun the enrollment of individuals from the Fatehgunj post office in Vadodara. This agency has been assigned to conduct enrollment in central and south Gujarat. The other one,Chennai-based Madras Security Printers,will cover the rest of the state from Anand onward,covering north Gujarat,Saurasthra and Kutch regions. It will take another week or so to launch the drive in Ahmedabad and other areas.

The project is being implemented through 428 selected post offices in the state where the individuals are being asked to come and give their demographic and biometric details by filling up forms and scanning their fingerprints and eyes,which are unique in every individual.

Besides Fatehgunj post office,enrollment in Vadodara city would also be done from Ajwa Road,Karelibaug,Vadodara HO,Majalpur,Race Course,Subhanpura and Mandvi post offices. The enrollment will be done for a few days at each centre one after the other.

The post offices selected for the job in Ahmedabad city are Ahmedabad GPO,Navrangpura HO,Revdi Bazar HO, Ambawadi (Manek Baug),Naranpura,Paldi and Maninagar.

Chief Postmaster General Humera Ahmed told The Indian Express that her Department working as registrar was providing space and infrastructure to the private agencies hired for the job. She said the data taken from individuals and entered in a prescribed form would be forwarded by the private agencies to the main server of the Unique Identity Authority of India(UIAI) under the Planning Commission only after clearance by the postal staff. “DoP,besides providing infrastructure,will supervise the overall enrollment work,” said Ahmed.

To make the UID card error-free,she said,every detail about the individual would be entered into the computer in the presence of the person. There will be an extra screen for the individuals to read their details so that they can help the operator to make corrections,if any,simultaneously. The cards will be delivered to the citizens through speedpost.

According to Ahmed,no fee is being charged from the people and it is not compulsory to get UID number. But,she said,it would be very useful to the people belonging to the lower strata and villagers who did not have any identity proof.

DoP would be paid Rs 50 per UID card by the Planning Commission and 70 per cent of it would go to the agencies hired for the enrollment purposes.

Other registrars appointed by the Planning Commission are nationalised banks,urban development department,insurance companies and civil supplies departments.