LUCKNOW: In a notable shift, Uttar Pradesh's state government has taken charge of the mandatory verification process for Aadhaar cards, supplanting the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). Lt Col Prashant Kumar Singh, deputy director-general of UIDAI in the Lucknow region, revealed that starting from Wednesday, demographic verification by the state authority will be a prerequisite for completing Aadhaar enrollment. Singh highlighted that this new process would mirror the steps involved in securing a passport.

Under this revamped procedure, Aadhaar enrollment will now be centralized to specific locations such as the main post office, sub post office, and Aadhaar Seva Centre in each district. Once enrolled at these centers, demographic data will be transmitted to state authorities via the service plus portal for verification purposes. The planning department headquarters of the UP government and district offices including DM, ADM, and SDM will have access to this information.

Deputy Director-General Singh outlined the subsequent verification steps, stating, "The SDM will supervise the physical verification of all applicant-submitted documents, involving personnel like tehsildar, naib tehsildar, kanungo, and lekhpal. Upon completion, the verification process will take a maximum of 180 days to generate Aadhaar. The state reserves the right to reject applications with forged, false, or misleading documents."

It's essential to note that UP residents in other states, union territories, or foreign countries may need to return to their home state for Aadhaar verification. These guidelines specifically apply to residents above 18 years obtaining Aadhaar for the first time.

While the UIDAI clarified these procedural changes, officials from Lucknow administration claimed they hadn't received an official letter outlining the new rules.

Since the inception of Aadhaar enrollment in 2010, UIDAI had been responsible for verifying demographic details for individuals seeking Aadhaar cards. As of Tuesday, a total of 23.56 crore residents of Uttar Pradesh have enrolled for Aadhaar, with an average of 13,226 individuals above 18 years enrolling each month. Presently, there are 1,237 Aadhaar enrollment centers in the state.

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