Aadhaar a double whammy for the disabled

November 22, 2017

Disability prevents enrolment; welfare benefits denied

A child enrols for Aadhaar at a centre in Tiruvottiyur, Chennai. 

Zubeda Hamid

CHENNAI : For several months now, M. Dayalan, a resident of Tiruvallur district who is visually impaired, has not been receiving his monthly disability pension. When he inquired, he was told it was because he did not have an Aadhaar card and his bank account was not linked. But not for lack of trying — Mr. Dayalan said he has attempted to get his Aadhaar at least twice, but has been rejected.

“My family and I are struggling without the pension,” said the 36-year-old.

Disability rights activists P. Simmachandran and S. Nambu Rajan said that a number of persons with disabilities are losing out on welfare schemes due to not being able to get an Aadhaar card — and it’s not just the pension, some cannot enrol in the MGNREGA scheme for employment too. Even though there is a provision in the Aadhaar framework to use just one biometric for those with disabilities — either the iris or the fingerprints — many centres and operators are either not aware or have no training to be able to do this, said Smitha Sadasivan, member, Disability Rights Alliance, who has also been petitioning for cards without both biometrics for those with certain disabilities. In many cases the applicants get an acknowledgement but are rejected at the main server level during authentication, she said.

A 50-year-old man, whose right hand is amputated, has not been able to get an Aadhaar card. He said he does not claim the disability pension but is having problems with his bank account that has to be linked with Aadhaar. “I tried to get a card and even got an acknowledgement but was then told my application was rejected as they need 10 fingerprints,” he said.

Those with leprosy too are having difficulties, said Victor Paul, who runs a service and support organisation. A 30-year-old woman with an 80% disability from a village near Palani has had her Aadhaar card for nine months now, but is still not receiving her pension. It was stopped last year, as she had not been able to travel to the nearest centre to obtain her Aadhaar, said an activist. For some with mental illnesses, getting Aadhaar cards is difficult and a few have lost out on pensions, said Kotteswara Rao, senior coordinator with the Schizophrenia Research Foundation.

Special drive

Activists say that there should be doorstep Aadhaar enrolment as well as special camps for those with disabilities to get their Aadhaar cards now that all social security schemes have been linked with it.

State Commissioner for Differently Abled V. Arun Roy said that he would bring this issue to the attention of UIDAI and ask them to come forward with a solution which would be implemented.

thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/aadhaar-a-double-whammy-for-the-disabled/article20629931.ece

HC Raps Centre on Aadhaar for Differently Abled

"Why was the Aadhaar card made mandatory when the Centre can't provide the software for issuing it to each citizen?" the Justice asked.

Iris scan for Aadhaar card (Representative image). Credit: The Wire/Shome Base

New Delhi: 

The Calcutta High Court on Thursday asked the Centre why it had made the Aadhaar mandatory for availing services and benefits when it didn’t have the infrastructure for biometric scans of differently abled people. It directed the Centre to report to the court by November 13 what steps had been taken to introduce the software for physically challenged people, reported the Telegraph.

Justice Debangshu Basak was hearing Nupur Moitra’s petition. Her 27-year-old son Sanat has cerebral palsy which impairs his ability to look straight at the camera for the iris scan. Or give his fingerprints, reported the Times of India. Sanat has thrice been denied an Aadhaar card.

“Why should a citizen have to petition a high court to direct the Centre to issue an Aadhaar card to him? Why was the Aadhaar card made mandatory when the Centre can’t provide the software for issuing it to each citizen?” Justice Basak said, according to the Telegraph report.

Advocate Jayanta Narayan Chatterjee, representing the Moitras, said Sanat has 83% cerebral palsy, and cannot sit properly.

“After receiving mobile phone messages declaring December 31 as the last date for (linking one’s mobile number to) Aadhaar, My client had taken her son to several enrolment camps on a wheelchair. Each time, the authorities sent regret letters afterwards saying an Aadhaar card cannot be issued because the camps could not take (Sanat’s) photograph or fingerprints.”

He said Nupur had initially – even though unsuccessfully – tried to get the enrolment centre staff to come home to take Sanat’s biometric details. When the Centre was making linking of Aadhaar number mandatory for all services, how could it not provide a card to citizen, Chatterjee asked.

The Centre’s lawyer said some states were not in a position to use the special software yet but the system for physically challenged people would be introduced soon.


https://thewire.in/government/hc-questions-centre-on-aadhaar-for-differently-abled