Red tape, NRC glitches deprive lakhs in Assam of Aadhaar

Lakhs of people living in Assam, who had their names registered in the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in 2019, have not received their Aadhaar numbers yet. As a result, they are unable to avail of the benefits that come with linking bank accounts with Aadhaar number.

In August 2019, 27 lakh people provided their biometrics, but around 19 lakh of them did not find their names in the NRC. Several of those who got registered in the NRC too have failed to get Aadhaar so far.

The problem exists because of confusions that prevail in the NRC exercise. The state says the responsibility lies with the Registrar General of India, which has shown no interest yet in resolving the crisis, reports The Indian Express.

A November 2018 Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) made it mandatory for those left out of the draft NRC list, published on July 31, 2018, to submit their biometrics during hearing of claims and objections. The hearings were conducted accordingly and the NRC list was published on August 31, 2019, leaving 19 lakh people in the lurch. In all, biometric details of 27,43,396 people were collected. The UIDAI is unable to issue Aadhaar numbers because the list published in August 2019 is not recognised as the “final NRC”, either by the Centre or the Assam government.

The SOP, which was okayed by the Supreme Court, was  had made it clear that people who find their names in the NRC will get Aadhaar, making them the residents of India. However, lakhs of people have not received Aadhaar despite making it to the National Register of Citizens. And then there are many more, who did not make it to the NRC at all.

So as it stands today, the NRC was published two years back, however, the Registrar General of India has not notified it. At the same time, the Supreme Court has not heard the matter since January 6, 2020. The Assam government, ruled by the BJP, too has failed to accept the NRC and wants the list amended. In short, nothing is happening on the NRC front.

The Assam NRC coordinator submitted an affidavit to the Gauhati High Court last year seeking re-verification of the August 2019 list.

In accordance with the SOP approved by the Supreme Court, Aadhaar benefit will be given to only those who are a part of the “final NRC”, but the state NRC does not consider this NRC as the final one. Therefore, they are not issuing Aadhaar numbers.

The matter now rests with the Registrar General of India (RGI), which has to notify the matter so that the Assam Home Department can take it up with the UIDAI.

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Kuldeep Pegu, Deputy Director, UIDAI, Regional Office, Guwahati, told The Indian Express that the NRC biometric enrolment had been kept on hold in accordance with the SOP guidelines. “Till a clarification is received from RGI and the matter is communicated to the UIDAI by Home and Political Department, Government of Assam, the Aadhaar number cannot be issued,” he said.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, on his part, has asked the Union government and the RGI to act.

Meanwhile, red tape has affected communication between state departments as well. For instance, NRC Assam communicated people’s grievances to the state’s Home and Political department several times, but did not receive any positive response. H D Sarma, the NRC coordinator, said: “…around 26 lakh applicants whose biometrics were captured during claims and objections phase are not able to obtain the Aadhaar card as the enrolment numbers have been blocked by the UIDAI as per para 9 of the SOP… government may like to file an affidavit in the Supreme Court seeking relaxation of para nine of the SOP so that applicants are able to avail the benefit of Aadhar card.”

The state Home and Political department, on its part, said it approached the Union Home Secretary and RGI twice, but got no response.

The authorities at RGI need to declare this National Register of Citizens (NRC) as the final one. Unless they do so, Aadhaar registration process won’t move ahead.