Moneycontrol News

Enrollment centres in several places across the country are continuing to illegally charge people for registering their Aadhaar or updating details.

The enrollment of Aadhaar is supposed to be free and the official fee for changing one’s details is only Rs 25. But many government authorised and private centres across the country are allegedly duping people by charging them something between Rs 100-500 for the same.

Ajay Bhushan Pandey, CEO of Unique Identification Authority (UIDAI)—the body which oversees the implementation of Aadhaar — told the Times of India that since December last year, close to 6,000 operators from different centres have been prosecuted and blacklisted for overcharging Aadhaar applicants.

The report claimed such misdeeds still being carried out in the national capital itself. The worst hit seem to be the working class people with limited access to internet and government announcements.

The report quotes Laxmi, a momo seller in Delhi whose daily earning is somewhere between Rs 150-200, as saying she was charged the same amount by a private centre to update her address and date of birth on her Aadhaar card. The authorised registrar, who oversees the work at the centre, claimed he did not know Laxmi’s financial condition or would have referred her to an authorised centre where, he claimed, the service was done for free or as per government instructions.

The registrar also said many registration centres have shut down, creating additional pressure on the existing ones.

UIDAI has 35 authorised and listed enrollment centres in Delhi, which have their respective branches in sub-districts but are facing a manpower crisis.

Overcharging incidents surged as the Centre had initially given a deadline of June 30 for getting Aadhaar in order to access government benefits, welfare schemes and other crucial things.

Incidents of overcharging were also reported from Tamil Nadu’s capital Chennai and across Jharkhand. A registrar from Jharkhand’s Bistupur alleged that the government was also not paying the commission it had pledged.

UIDAI has increased the penalty for violation of stipulated guidelines from Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000 and it has come into effect since July.

Earlier this year, amid rising complaints about enrollees being charged for Aadhaar, Law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had given an assurance that the authorities would look into the matter.

With such incidents taking place, the UIDAI has put up disclaimers on its website to spread awareness. Charges for different Aadhaar-related services are displayed prominently on the UIDAI homepage.

Aadhaar Charges

New enrollment: Free

Biometric update for children at age 5 and 15: Free

Biometric update of registered adults: Rs 25

Demographic update (name, address, mobile number, etc.): Rs 25

Finding Aadhaar and black-and-white printout: Rs 10

Finding Aadhaar and Colour printout: Rs 20