BAREILLY / MEERUT: Many of us might think that our lives can continue as usual since there is more than a month left to link Aadhaar with various financial accounts and documents. But did you know that there has been an increasing number of cases were people have been denied basic benefits because they do not have the 12-digit unique identity number. In a recent episode, according to a Times of India report, many people living in various old age homes across Uttar Pradesh have been denied pension benefits in the absence of Aadhaar cards.At an old age home in Meerut, none of the 49 inmates have got pension, while 40 people in Bareilly are awaiting pension. Their reasons for not getting Aadhaar is genuine: Many have not been able to get it as their fingers prints have worn out with age and labour, and due to this are unable to record their biometric data.Section 7 of the Aadhaar Act , 2016 states that Central or State Government may make possession of an Aadhaar number or Aadhaar Authentication, mandatory for receipt of subsidies, benefits or services funded out of the Consolidated Fund of India. At the same time, the sections also states that an individual who has not been assigned an Aadhaar number, shall be enrolled for Aadhaar and offered an alternate and viable means of identification for receipt of subsidy, benefit or service till 12-digit biometric number is assigned to him.Senior citizens, aged between 60 years and 79 years who are the below poverty line, are entitled to a monthly pension of Rs 400, while those above 80 years get Rs 500 per month. Many who have been abandoned by their families and are forced to stay at old age homes need this pension money to meet their personal requirements.Reportedly, when TOI visited the old age home in Meerut, it found that not a single person over there had been given pension ever since the home was opened in March 2017. Ramesh Chaudhary, 68, a native of Muzaffarnagar said, “After I parted ways with my son, I have been living in one old age home or the other. I haven't been able to receive any pension here. They give us food, electricity, water and even medicines, but there are some medicines which are unavailable with them and for that I have to ask for money from my daughter, which I do not like. Only if we would have gotten any pension, things would have been different.”When asked why these senior citizens are being denied their pension, Ashok Dixit, Bareilly-based social welfare officer told TOI that several inmates are not getting pension as their Aadhaar cards could not be made and they have no other identity card for address proof. “According to the rules, Aadhaar cards cannot be made on the address of an old age home or any other organisation. Some of the senior citizens have not been able to register their biometric details because their fingerprints have been smoothened out by years of manual labour and sheer old age. According to the government’s policy, toe impression can be taken only for persons with disabilities,” he added.However contesting Dixit's claim, Raj Kumar, manager of an NGO which runs the old age home in Meerut, said, “The procedure of pension can begin only after the social welfare officer makes a visit here and sends a monthly report but since it has not been done, the pension procedure cannot even begin in the first place. There are inmates who do not possess Aadhaar cards.”2017 saw several controversies on linking of the 12-digit biometric number with various government services. While, the Supreme Court is yet to decide on several petitions to make Aadhaar mandatory for government services and the overarching matter of citizens' right to privacy, it has refused to put a freeze on Aadhaar linkages. As the status quo continues, the government has increased the number of services linked to Aadhaar.As of now, the deadline to link Aadhaar number with bank accounts, credit cards, insurance policies, equity and mutual fund investments, mobile number, small savings schemes like Public Provident Fund, Kisan Vikas Patra, National Savings Certificate, Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana etc. is March 31.