Dead or alive? Karnataka govt orders verification of Aadhaar holders aged 100

Bengaluru: The Karnataka government has ordered a field verification of centenarian Aadhaar holders to ascertain whether or not they are alive, in the first such exercise to review the unique identity database 15 years after it was launched in India.

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has estimated that 48.98 lakh Aadhaar holders in Karnataka have died. There are 6.66 crore Aadhaar holders who are alive in the state, where the government uses the 12-digit unique number in a big way for direct benefit transfer (DBT) and other services.

In July, the UIDAI announced that it started taking measures to obtain death records from various sources and deactivate Aadhaar numbers of deceased persons. Based on death records obtained from the Registrar General of India (RGI), 1.17 crore Aadhaar numbers have been deactivated. The UIDAI has also allowed individuals to report the death of family members.

In a pilot project, the UIDAI has asked states to verify the status of Aadhaar holders aged 100 and above. “Upon receipt of such verification report, necessary validation will be carried out before deactivating such Aadhaar number,” the UIDAI has said.

Accordingly, the e-governance department has issued an order asking tahsildars to carry out field verifications of all Aadhaar holders aged 100 and above. Deputy commissioners have been asked to review the progress of this exercise at the District Level Aadhaar Monitoring Committee (DLAMC) meetings.

“Since the launch of Aadhaar 15 years ago, many people have died. The UIDAI has contacted the RGI, banks and various applications being used by states to get data. With a population of 140 crore, it will be difficult to carry out a field verification of all Aadhaar holders. So, it has been planned to verify, based on Aadhaar documents, those aged 100,” the order states.

Tahsildars will verify centenarians along with scrutinizing new Aadhaar enrolments of all persons aged 18 and above, the order states, adding that the exercise is meant to “improve the integrity” of the Aadhaar database in Karnataka.

The UIDAI has specified that no Aadhaar number is ever re-assigned to another individual. “However, in case of the death of a person, it is essential that the Aadhaar number is deactivated to prevent identity fraud and unauthorised usage,” it said.