[Mohitkumaar]

<Joke>

Wait a minute, they literally invented an address! I think we are on to something here. Can you visit the local municipal authorities to help you get possession of this property. At best you will get some free land, at worst (for authorities of course, this will be a severe egg in their face moment.) Grab a few people from local media to tag along!

There is a principle of law called estoppel which may come in play here.

</Joke>

[binand]

Phew. Finally, a voice of reason:

http://www.firstpost.com/india/aadha...e-1127663.html

[Samurai]

These kind of fictional addresses are very common. My voter id, ration card, electric bill has different fictional addresses. But none of them are connected to each other, so it is fine. Once they are interconnected, the very incompetent people who created the problem will take objection to it saying addresses don't match.

Do you know that the esteemed government employees can only make errors, but can't correct them? We have property that is in limbo because of clerical error. They admit error, but plead helplessness to fix it. We have to spend 6 months of effort and bribe in the correcting process.

My uncle said yesterday that the aadhar enrolling person was barely interested in taking the details correctly. Although he tried to correct the spelling repeatedly, the data entry operator ignored him saying it doesn't matter. Garbage in, garbage out.

My brother's LPG connection is my dad's name because it was made when my dad was the head of household. Now my dad lives in native village and has another LPG connection. My brother has been trying to change the connection to his name, but they won't do it unless he produces death certificate. But my dad is alive, so that process can't be done. Now my brother can't link his aadhar card to his LPG since the name doesn't match. He can't use dad's aadhar number because my dad's number is linked with the connection in the village. In other words, my brother will end up paying double or even lose his LPG connection in future.

Many of my employees too suffering similar problems. This linking of essential services with aadhar is sending everybody into a tizzy. Our government is way too incompetent to efficiently manage this kind of operation. This must be the most unpopular scheme to hit rural India ever.

[Sabareesh]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Our government is way too incompetent to efficiently manage this kind of operation. This must be the most unpopular scheme to hit rural India ever.

I agree. The problem is at the grass root level. The data entry operators rarely bother to cross check what they have entered.

However, I must admit that the person who entered by Aadhar card details was extremely courteous. She had us go through all the details many times before she submitted it. I was fortunate that she took care to enter the correct details and as a result our (me, wife & parents) aadhar card has perfect details.

[sa_kiran]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

Even now you may not get the Gas subsidy reimbursement without a UID, or it will be made a pain in the backside!

UID/Aadhar is not required for gas subsidy reimbursement. Mentioned in this article - http://moneylife.in/article/supreme-...ces/34570.html

[sgiitk]

I do not think the last has been heard about the court story. While I am all for privacy protection and the rest I do think something Social Security / National Insurance no is required.

With the NPR a non-starter, the UID is the best available option. If there are issues fix them but do not throw the baby with the bathwater.

[dass]

Wait a minute, are you telling me that that the 4 hours i stood in the queue along with my wife to get myself enrolled is all for nothing? Damn, the status shows that they are yet to receive my EID number, even after 3 months post submitting it. I am not sure if I should be happy or sad, eitherways, this was bound to happen.

[sa_kiran]

Originally Posted by Samurai

The same stupid people who implemented this are going to link our bank account, PAN, ration card, passport .........

May represent you in the parliament as well

[green_wheel]

I hate it when the executive and judicial branches of government can't get into a simple agreement. Now, the SC says that Aadhar is not mandatory. So what about LPG subsidies? How do you keep track of those? What about other grants and schemes that put money into bank accounts linked to Aadhar?
Dear Hon. SC and dear Hon. union govt. I request you both to get into a room and thrash this issue out till you reach a consensus. At this moment, it is complete chaos and it is rather unfair on the common man.

Originally Posted by Mohitkumaar

Finally, I was waiting long for this judgement and while everyone else in my family has got their cards, I was staunchly against giving fingerprints and retina scan to anyone even GoI.

In principle, I agree with you that I do not trust my own government with my biometric data - especially as it is collected by third parties. It is not that I am afraid of government misusing my data. I am more afraid about how securely this data is stored. Knowing that every other government web-site and server gets hacked as regularly as the sun rises, my fear is more about this data being used to create false passports and me getting implicated in some mischief. I was forced to take Aadhar, because I know that all schools in my neighbourhood are asking for the parents' Aadhar (for god only knows what) and I do not want my child to suffer when she is due to enter school in a couple of years.

I predict that in a few years time - biometric passports will be mandatory worldwide and submitting biometric data will be essential. The entire world is moving into 1984. It is just a few decades late.

[k_nitin_r]

Every few years, they come up with a new ID and make the procedures difficult to get one without brokerage. Maybe this is what the Congress intended when they proposed employment for all.

Now, the problem is that various agencies want to make their own typing errors. I took a while to correct the addresses, but they demanded an ID proof so the best I could do was to get all the addresses to match the incorrect address of one ID.

[msdivy]

Originally Posted by green_wheel

Now, the SC says that Aadhar is not mandatory.

It is not SC that says UID is not mandatory. It is the Govt that said & still says UID is voluntary, but made UID mandatory for LPG subsidies, marriage registration et al.

SC just clarified the doublespeak of the Govt.

[Gansan]

At the time of registration for aadhar,, they tell us we can change how our name should appear on the card according to our wish! What do they mean? Can I change my name from Ganesan to Natesan? Even to change it as Ganesh will require Gazette notification!

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by green_wheel

I hate it when the executive and judicial branches of government can't get into a simple agreement. Now, the SC says that Aadhar is not mandatory. So what about LPG subsidies? How do you keep track of those? What about other grants and schemes that put money into bank accounts linked to Aadhar?
Dear Hon. SC and dear Hon. union govt. I request you both to get into a room and thrash this issue out till you reach a consensus. At this moment, it is complete chaos and it is rather unfair on the common man.

You make it sound like it can be negotiated and settled. Nope, that is not the case here.

Government is doing something unconstitutional. Therefore, the Supreme court told the government to stop doing it. Unless Aadhar scheme is ratified by the parliament, it remains unconstitutional. The job of the court is to interpret the constitution and they have done so.

[carboy]

Originally Posted by Samurai

You make it sound like it can be negotiated and settled. Nope, that is not the case here.

Government is doing something unconstitutional. Therefore, the Supreme court told the government to stop doing it. Unless Aadhar scheme is ratified by the parliament, it remains unconstitutional. The job of the court is to interpret the constitution and they have done so.

Well said. And this is essentially an example of checks and balances in action - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_of_powers

[binand]

Originally Posted by green_wheel

I hate it when the executive and judicial branches of government can't get into a simple agreement. Now, the SC says that Aadhar is not mandatory. So what about LPG subsidies? How do you keep track of those? What about other grants and schemes that put money into bank accounts linked to Aadhar?

As for LPG subsidies, they'll work the way they always have been - a smaller bill to pay for each cylinder. Ditto for other grants and schemes.

The problem pin-pointed by the petitioner in this case (and agreed to by the SC) is that Aadhar cannot be made mandatory today.

If the government wants to make anything mandatory on the citizens, it has to have an enabling act passed in the parliament (or state legislature, as the case is). So the Motor Vehicles Act makes driving licenses mandatory for driving, the Passports Act makes passports mandatory for travelling abroad and so on.

Once the enabling act is in place, the government can start its implementation (usually by publishing a set of rules and then empowering the vast bureaucracy to take care of the details). The courts will step in only if someone makes out a case that the enabling law is ultra vires to the constitution.

In the case of Aadhar, the government does not have the enabling law in place. They had put it up in parliament during UPA-2, but it was rejected by a parliamentary committee in 2011 itself. So by going ahead with Nilekani's hi'falutin plan, the GoI cocked a snook at the established parliamentary process in the country. The Supreme Court has now put a (possibly temporary - this is an interim order) stop to this travesty.