Don’t punish beneficiaries

BENGALURU: “The lines on our fingers have faded due to the nature of work and it is the only source of income for our families. But the ration shop dealer is turning us away saying our biometric data does not match,” rued 60-year-old Jayamma, an agarbatti maker living in Samil slum of Cottonpet.She was one among the many aggrieved members from marginalized communities who took part in the public hearing on Aadhaar-related denial of social security held here on Thursday and aired their woes.Organized by the Right to Food (RTF) campaign, an informal network of individuals and organizations committed to the realization of the right to food in India, the hearing sought to bring to light the exclusionary nature of Aadhaar and its misuse to systematically isolate the needy despite repeated Supreme Court orders reiterating its voluntary nature.Jayamma complained that introduction of the biometric system to verify beneficiaries at ration stores has turned her life miserable. She hasn’t received her share for the past two months. “The ration shop dealer is also threatening us with cancellation of the card if we don’t get the issue rectified but several trips to the food commissioner’s office yielded no results,” she said.Chandrika, a 39-year-old woman who has been living with HIV for the past 20 years, is facing a different problem. She pointed out that making Aadhaar mandatory to avail the life-saving antiretroviral (ART) therapy is in violation of the right to privacy. “We have the right to confidentiality about our status. Many people like me have stopped using this drug because our treatment, if linked with Aadhaar, would reveal our HIV status. We live in a society where there’s a lot of stigma and discrimination against persons living with HIV/AIDS. I reject Aadhaar as it goes against my right to life,” she said.With the provisions of rations, medical care in case of serious conditions like cancer, tuberculosis, HIV-AIDS, midday meals, pensions, gas connections, abortions, sonograms and even death certificates being dependant on Aadhaar seeding and linking, most beneficiaries have been made to run from pillar to post. Violation of privacy and overarching threat of constant surveillance are the concern for the middleclass urban citizens.Aggrieved citizens from Ramanagara, Kolar, Belagavi, Tumakuru and Chikkaballapura put their ‘testimonies’ before a panel of experts for their adjudication. A compilation of complaints and recommendations will be placed before the SC as it begins hearing from October 30.Usha Ramanathan, legal expert and scholar, said the reports by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) itself suggested that biometric information was unsuitable for authentication. “They themselves have admitted that using biometric information to verify anyone’s identity is faulty, making it much worse for daily wager workers. Now that we know it’s a failure, why can’t we go back to a system that works for the public? The administration should administer in accordance with the law,” she said.The Right to Food is a fundamental one but it is being sabotaged and misused because of this sham identification mechanism. If the government says it is to remove fake and ghost cards from the system, they also need to investigate criminals who allowed this malpractice in the first place, instead of punishing beneficiaries. Form a special investigation team for this-Col. Matthew Thomas, petitioner in the right to privacy case and RTI activist.