80% residents in the villages of Neemuch have same birth date

NEEMUCH: THE GLITCH IS CREATED AUTOMATICALLY BY

THE SYSTEM IF NO

DATE OF BIRTH IS FILED IN THE AADHAAR APPLICATION FORM

More than 5,000 people in five villages of Madhya Pradesh’s Neemuch district have the same date of birth on their Aadhaar cards — January 1 — due to a glitch which has cut them out of the government’s welfare schemes linked to the unique identification number.

Around 80% of the people in Palsoda, Devpura, Fatah Nagar, Jetpuria and Bhopalganj villages — having an approximate population of 7,000 — have the same date of birth on the cards, according to some villagers and the village head (sarpanch) of Palsoda, under which all the villages come.

Puran Singh Rajput, a resident of Palsoda village, complained that since their dates of birth are different on other documents and the Aadhaar card, they are being denied provisions and benefits under the government’s welfare schemes as these are linked to the Aadhaar card.

The glitch is created automatically by the system if no date of birth is filed in the Aadhaar application form. Rajput blamed the agency entrusted with their registration for not doing the same.

Assistant manager, e-governance, Neemuch, Kamlesh Prajapati said the villagers will have to go to the monthly camp to get the error rectified, and it will take between two and seven days.

However, another villager Samrath Sen said it was an arduous task as the camp is crowded and their turn never comes.

“Ideally the administration should hold a camp in the village because it is their fault and such a large number of people are affected by it,” he said.