Vellore public perplexed due to Aadhaar card ‘renewal drive’

VELLORE: Public in Vellore were perplexed after reports claiming that Aadhaar cards should be renewed at e-seva centres surfaced in the town on Friday.

As the Aadhaar card issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has no validity date, public were perplexed after the reports on renewal. Till date nobody in Vellore neither received SMS or message through any other mode advising renewal of Aadhaar cards. However, sources at the e-seva centre said that nearly 100 persons had ‘renewed’ their Aadhaar cards at the specific charge of Rs 50 per card.

Enquiries with the staff of an e-seva centre revealed that e-seva centres run by the Electronics Corporation of TN (ELCOT) had been instructed in September to “renew” Aadhaar cards and that the move had started in earnest from October 1.

When asked about this, Vellore consumer federation president K Sathiyamoorthy said, “It is the bounden duty of the UIDAI to inform the public about renewal as the Aadhaar card has no validity. Hence the question of renewing it raises doubts as to who ordered the renewal.”

A person, who renewed his card, said that Aadhaar showed the ‘renewal’ form, which stated at the top that it was meant for “enrolment, correction and updates.” When e-seva staff were asked about this, they said, “the move is aimed at updating the cards of children who would have been issued with Aadhaar cards based on their parents’ documents. When they turn 5 or 15, they have to update their cards.”

Elaborating, the staffer said, “The exercise will also apply for those who were issued Aadhaar cards without documents.” But what is surprising is that even those who come to the centres with Aadhaar cards, which were issued based on pucca documents, also were forced to shell out Rs 50 with no one informing them that there was no need for them to ‘renew’ their cards.