Maharashtra government is offering incentive to its employees for enrolling more residents for the UID number scheme. The incentive part could be dangerously misused by the state government employees by promising fake benefits to get more people enrolled under the controversial Aadhaar project.
Moneylife Digital Team
The Maharashtra government has decided to give incentives to its employees for hassling…sorry, enrolling common residents for the unique identification number (UIDN) or Aadhaar number. There are already several stories about the fake promises given by employees, like the Aadhaar number would help in getting foodgrains under the public distribution scheme (PDS), several other benefits given under the below poverty level (BPL) initiatives and so on. The additional attraction of incentive would pose serious risks for people who are unaware of the dangers of the Aadhaar number.
The Maharashtra government has in a resolution (GR) issued on 11 April 2011, said it will pay 25 paisa per enrolment to its employees working in the taluka and municipal zones who are engaged in the enrolment work for Aadhaar. This incentive would be derived from the Rs5 per UID number provided to the district collectors and municipal commissioners in the state. The balance Rs4.75 would be spent on daily expenses incurred for items like electricity, maintenance of the enrolment centre as well as travelling and daily allowances and training and seminar expenses.
The GR also mentions that the union government has sanctioned Rs50 per UID number for enrolling the first 20 crore residents for the Aadhaar project by March 2012. The incentive of 25 paisa per UID number would effectively be paid out of this amount.
Many activists are aghast over issues related to the UID number and this incentive has angered them even more. One activist says, "It (the GR) quotes the central government as having issued a target for the first phase. How can one find out, who precisely defined this target and how does it translate into an objective that can be incentivised?"
Already, many voices have been raised against the forceful implementation of the UID project, with most objections focused on concerns over privacy. The incentive issue will certainly push government employees to enrol more residents by any means, when they don't know what Aadhaar is and how it would affect their lives.
Moreover, there are issues over the legality of Aadhaar itself. The National Identification Authority of India (NIA) Bill is still pending before Parliament. The Bill seeks to constitute a statutory authority and lay down its powers and functions, besides deciding the framework to issue the UID or Aadhaar numbers. Yet, the Indian government and UID Authority of India (UIDAI) has been gone about implementing the scheme and issuing Aadhaar numbers without any constitutional validity as yet.
According to an expert, the government is the executive not empowered by the Constitution to implement projects spending public money without legislative sanction. "In the case of UIDAI, while the executive may appoint anyone to head it, the government is legally constrained from implementing the project and issuing Aadhaar numbers," the expert said.
The NIA Bill is under the consideration of the Parliament Standing Committee on Finance, headed by former finance minister Yashwant Sinha and has members from across the political spectrum.
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