Residents find ways to beat purpose of ration card-Aadhaar linkage

For instance, Shanmugam of Medavakkam, whose name figures in the ration card of his parents, asked his wife who lives in RA Puram to remove her name from her mother’s ration card and apply for a fresh one in her name. Thus, while his name continues to be in his parents’ card, it will also figure in the new card which his wife plans to apply for.

Undeterred by the fact that he was wantonly trying to indulge in something which was patently illegal, he said this was normal practice in many families in slum tenements, adding, “How else will we be able to get additional commodities for our families in these days of high prices?” 

Similarly, at Suryanagar in Kotturpuram, a resident, who preferred anonymity said, “Though most of us have two cooking gas cylinders, we usually hide them in the toilet when the civil supplies officials come for spot verification.”

Of the 1.97 crore ration cards benefiting 6.84 crore persons in the state, Aadhaar linkage was achieved for 6.02 crore persons, while another 1.83 crore have gone in for mobile linkage, civil supplies officials said. But, according to UIDAI reports, Aadhaar coverage in Tamil Nadu as on May 15 this year averaged 92 per cent for a population pegged at 2015 levels, according to Census Department officials. 

“As against a population of 7.63 crore, Aadhaar linkage was achieved in seven crore people,” officials added. Most of Tamil Nadu’s 511 Aadhaar linkage centres have been closed due to the achievement of the required coverage. However, a few do function, but are understaffed as Leelavathi of Neelankarai discovered when she visited the centre on the OMR on Thursday. 

When asked about this, an official claiming anonymity said, “As Aadhaar centres were wound up, the work was handed over to the Census Department.”