Govt cracks whip on 50K Aadhaar enrolment ops
NEW DELHI: About 50,000 enrolment operators have been suspended for violating guidelines related to enrolment of Aadhaar — the 12-digit unique identity number, minister of state for electronics and information technology, Alphons Kannanthanam informed the Rajya Sabha in a written reply on Friday.
The minister further said that an operator is blacklisted mainly when he crosses the threshold of errors during enrolment. “All such erroneous enrolments are rejected during quality checks. Hence, Aadhaar is not generated...” Kannanthanam wrote.
He further said that the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) conducts regular audits of the enrolment centres.
“Regulation 26 of Aadhaar (Enrolment and Update) Regulations, 2016 prescribes action against operators and others for violating any regulations, processes, standards, guidelines and orders issued by UIDAI with regard to enrolment of residents,” the junior IT minister said.
He added that the UIDAI organises training and sensitisation workshops for enrolment agencies and operators working under them on various issues, from time to time.
The government is pushing the use of Aadhaar, saying it is necessary to plug leaks in its subsidy schemes for the poor and also ensure financial transparency. But activists have voiced privacy concerns because it requires finger prints and iris scans. The Supreme Court will begin hearing arguments from January 10 on the validity of Aadhaar.