CS urges for activation of all centers for 100pc Aadhar enrollment in J&K

jj correspondent

Srinagar, July 25: Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta on Tuesday impressed upon all the concerned Departments to ensure 100 percent Aadhaar registration in Jammu and Kashmir.
Chairing a meeting of the Unique Identification Implementation Committee (UIDIC) here at Civil Secretariat, Chief Secretary Mehta directed all department heads to get all individuals Aadhaar registration by activating all the enrollment centres run by them and optimum utilization of available gadgets.
The meeting was attended by Administrative Secretaries, officials from UIDAI, Divisional Commissioners Kashmir/Jammu and representatives from various government departments.
Commissioner Secretary, IT, Prerna Puri, commenced the proceedings by presenting an overview of the Aadhaar situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
It was stated that till date 121,96,367 Aadhaar numbers have been generated, resulting in a saturation of over 90 percent population in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
A breakdown of Aadhaar saturation for different age groups was also given out which include 0-5 years: 60.70%, 5-18 years, 89.2% and above 18 years, 92.4%.
Despite the positive progress, concerns were raised about lagging behind the national average in the 0-5 years age group.
The meeting focused on the urgent need for document updation by residents who have not updated their Aadhaar details in the last 10 years.
In this context, the UIDAI has disseminated pamphlets and posters across all blocks of Jammu and Kashmir to raise awareness regarding document updates.
An action plan was devised during the meeting to address the challenges and expedite the Aadhaar registration process which includes preparation of School-wise and class-wise lists of children requiring Mandatory Biometric Updates (MBUs), roster for the movement of MBU kits in the schools, besides roping in Health and ICDS for the enrollment of children in the age group of 0-5 years.
Mehta called upon Deputy Director General UIDAI, Regional Office Chandigarh, that awareness campaigns be conducted by the School Education Department at all locations, besides efforts to increase the turnout in schools.
Regarding the availability of functional Aadhaar centers, it was reported that 780 permanent centers and 450 mobile tablets are operational throughout the UT. The Chief Secretary urged for activation of all these centres and optimum utilization of their resources in order to bridge the gap between the actual population and registrations made so far.
In an effort to cover all school students under Aadhaar registration, Mehta directed concerned officers to ensure that 100 percent of students in schools, including those not yet registered under Aadhaar, are included within the next six months. UNI