Aadhaar rider impediment in seeking relief for flood-hit: Govt

SRINAGAR: The state government has informed the Jammu and Kashmir High Court that requisite furnishing of Aadhaar cards is proving an impediment for it (govt) to upload the list of beneficiaries and claimants online, whose houses were damaged in devastating floods in September last year.

Ishfaq Tantry

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, May 17

The state government has informed the Jammu and Kashmir High Court that requisite furnishing of Aadhaar cards is proving an impediment for it (govt) to upload the list of beneficiaries and claimants online, whose houses were damaged in devastating floods in September last year.

Hearing a Public Interest Litigation on rehabilitation of flood victims of 2014, a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice N Paul Vasanthakumar and Justice Ali Muhammad Magrey, however, observed, “Aadhaar cards cannot be made compulsory for identification as also held by the Supreme Court.”

“You are making the process complicated. There is gas-connection card, ration card and voter identity card, which can be used as identity proof,” the Bench observed.

The Bench made these observations following the submission by Advocate General RA Jan that the Central National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has sought Aadhaar card as identity proof before releasing the compensation to beneficiaries, whose houses were damaged in floods in September last.

The Central government is ready to pay an additional financial assistance of Rs 50,000 for fully damaged houses and Rs 25,000 for partially damaged houses.

However, the Union Government has linked the release of this additional instalment of financial assistance to the production of Aadhaar card by the affected people.

This has been revealed by the Central government in its affidavit to the JK High Court, which is hearing a PIL on the 2014 floods.

“The Advocate General submits that the NDMA is seeking Aadhaar Card and the state government has urged to exempt it and verify identity through gas connection or voter identity card,” the Bench observed in its orders made available yesterday, adding that Aadhaar card could not be made compulsory as the Supreme Court has already made a direction in this regard.

The Division Bench of the court that heard the matter has, however, granted the Central government two weeks to decide the release of the payment after observing that as per the recent Supreme Court orders Aadhaar card was not necessary.