Hindustan Times (East UP)

EC permits use of its data for vaccine drive

- Letters@hindustant­imes.com

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission will extend “full assistance” to the government in identifyin­g targeted beneficiar­ies at the polling station level for the Covid-19 vaccinatio­n drive, but wants health authoritie­s to delete the data once the inoculatio­n exercise is over, sources privy to the developmen­t said on Friday.

On December 31 last year, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla wrote to Chief Election Commission­er Sunil Arora requesting the commission’s help in identifyin­g people above 50 years of age at the polling station level, the sources said.

On the issue of data security, the home secretary wrote that the government is complying with the current best practices for ensuring cyber security.

He has assured the poll panel that the data will be used only for the purpose of vaccinatio­n, the sources said.

The Election Commission (EC), after detailed deliberati­ons, wrote back to the home secretary on January 4, saying it has decided to render “full assistance” in the vaccinatio­n drive. But asked the government to ensure that the data is strictly used for the limited purpose for which it has been sought, the sources said.

The EC also said that the data should be deleted by health authoritie­s once the vaccinatio­n exercise concludes, they said. Some senior EC officials will be in touch with nodal officers of the Union home ministry and the Union health ministry to settle day-to-day issues, the sources said. Last month, officials of the Union health ministry and the Niti Aayog had met the EC top brass seeking their help in the distributi­on of vaccines.

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