DO YOU HAVE TO PAY
A BRIBE TO GET AADHAAR CARD ?
I
want an Aadhaar Card.
I
have made repeated efforts to get an Aadhaar Card.
I
have enrolled, I have re-enrolled – but till today I have not received my
Aadhaar Card.
My
numerous complaints have not been satisfactorily responded to by the UIDAI.
Let
me tell about my efforts to get an Aadhaar Card.
FIRST ENROLMENT
I
first enrolled for Aadhaar on 08 February 2012 (08/02/2012).
The
enrolment centre was located in a leading IT Software Company in Pune and Enrolment
Agency was “Tera Software Ltd”
There
was a big rush and I had to wait for more than 3 hours in a queue before I was
enrolled.
I
was issued an acknowledgement receipt with an enrolment number.
I
did not receive my Aadhaar Card for over 6 months despite repeated reminders
from my side.
On
checking Aadhaar Status on the UIDAI website, the status would show: “Your
Aadhaar Number is under generation”.
Suddenly,
10 months after enrolment, in November 2012, the status said: “Your Aadhaar
enrolment could not be processed due to data
process error. Please re-enroll yourself at the nearest enrolment centre”
RE - ENROLMENT
Accordingly,
I re-enrolled myself for Aadhaar on 10 December 2012 (10/12/2012).
The
Enrolment Centre was located in IDBI Bank Hinjewadi Pune and the Enrolment
Agency was “Sreeven Infocom Limited”.
I
explained to the lady enroller that my first Aadhaar enrolment had failed due
to data process error and asked her to be extra careful and ensure that my data
was collected properly.
The
enroller took due care and confirmed to me that my biometric details had been
recorded perfectly.
She
also cross-checked my documents of Proof of Identity (PAN Card), Proof of
Address (Electricity Bill in my name) and even took a Date of Birth proof document
from me and attached photocopies of all these documents to the form which she
was forwarding.
She
assured me that I would receive my Aadhaar Card within 3 months.
I
was issued an acknowledgement receipt with an enrolment number.
This
time the Aadhaar enrolment acknowledgement form had additional comments like “Good
Fingerprint Quality”, “Biometrics Captured Fingers (10) Iris (2) Face” etc.
I
eagerly waited for my Aadhaar card.
Unfortunately,
exactly the same sequence of events happened as had taken place during the
first Aadhaar Enrolment.
For
the first few months the status report said: “Your Aadhaar Number is under
generation”.
After
more than 6 months had elapsed, the Aadhaar status said: “Your Aadhaar
enrolment could not be processed due to data
process error. Please re-enroll yourself at the nearest enrolment centre”
Why
was “data process error” occurring again
and again?
What
exactly are these “data processing
errors” which were happening more than 6 months after enrolment?
It
seemed that things were moving in a circle and I was destined not to get an
Aadhaar Card.
APATHETIC GRIEVANCE
REDRESSAL SYSTEM OF UIDAI
It has been my experience that the
UIDAI Grievance Redressal Mechanism is totally ineffective.
Since
I am keen to get an Aadhaar Card and I do not want the same “data process
error” to happen again and again, I made a number of complaints by email /
helpline but did not receive any satisfactory response.
The
only response to my complaints and grievances I received was a call from the
UIDAI Mumbai Office that I should re-enroll once again (for the third time) and
try my luck.
I
asked the official: “This time can you please guarantee that that there will be
no “data processing errors” and can you assure me that I will receive my
Aadhaar Card?”
He
laughed it off, saying: “Who can guarantee anything? The whole enrolment
process has been outsourced to private companies. You re-enroll once more and
try your luck. If your Aadhaar generation fails again, you keep trying again
and again.”
This
reply from UIDAI left me bewildered. I did not know whether to laugh or cry.
A
few days ago, I discussed my Aadhaar woes with a friend of mine, who said
matter-of-factly, “You have spent all your life in uniform serving in the
Defence Services, so you don’t know anything about the outside world. In India,
you cannot get anything done unless you pay a bribe.”
I
was aghast.
“Do
you have to pay a bribe for an Aadhaar Card?”
At
first I did not believe my friend.
But
then I read this news report that an Aadhaar enroller had been caught taking
bribes for making Aadhaar Cards. What is worse, if you paid bribes you could
get an Aadhaar Card made even without the necessary documents:
If
corruption is rampant in the Aadhaar Enrolment System, it is no wonder that
even illegal immigrants who are not citizens of India are being issued Aadhaar
Cards, as frequent news reports say:
DO YOU HAVE TO PAY
A BRIBE TO GET AADHAAR CARD?
The Government keeps saying that Aadhaar
Card is voluntary.
But in actual fact they are making it
compulsory by making Aadhaar mandatory for LPG subsidized cylinders and other
requirements.
A retired defence officer told me that soon
veteran armed forces ex-servicemen of the army navy and air force will not be able to avail
medical treatment under ECHS unless they had an Aadhaar Card.
The more they make anything compulsory, the
more the scope for corruption.
Will the virus of corruption infect the
UIDAI Aadhaar System too?
The UIDAI is headed by Mr. Nandan Nilekani,
a distinguished technocrat who has achieved outstanding success in the IT
Industry.
My
repeated efforts at obtaining an Aadhaar Card in an honest manner have failed, so I want to ask Mr. Nandan Nilekani a simple question: “Do I have to pay a bribe to get an Aadhaar
Card?”
