Wrong age to faulty addresses, Jharkhand villagers struggle to correct Aadhaar data

Jeetrai Samant, a 42-year-old beedi worker in Doipai village of West Singhbhum, was shocked to receive two notices asking him to appear before the court.

The complainant, an official of the Grameen Bank, had informed Samant in September that his Aadhaar was linked with another person’s account number, and asked him to return the money he had withdrawn two years ago.

“During the Covid lockdown in 2020, I had gone to a Common Service Centre to check the balance in my Aadhaar-linked account. When I put my thumb on the scanner, it showed a balance of Rs 1,12,000. I rushed to the bank, where the manager told me that the amount had probably been credited as Covid relief by the government,” he said.

Facing hardships, Samant, who belongs to the Ho tribe of Jharkhand, said he kept withdrawing the money to sustain his family, which includes his wife and six children.

Samant has now written a letter to the Superintendent of Police, Chaibasa, seeking action against the erring bank officials and demanding justice.

His letter stated: “Isme meri koi galti nahi hai. Mere Aadhaar se mere jankari ke bina dusre kisi ka khata mein link kar diya gaya. Do saal tak bank dwara is sambandh mein koi jankari nahi diya gaya (It’s not my fault. Without my knowledge, my Aadhaar was linked to someone else’s bank account. For the last two years, the bank did not even inform me).”

Calls and messages to the officials of the Grameen Bank, seeking to know how Samant’s Aadhaar got linked to another person’s account, went unanswered.

Pawan Pathak, the in-charge of Mufassil Police Station, said, “It appears that the bank made a mistake. We are investigating the case.”

The Indian Express travelled through West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand and met villagers, who spoke about their frustration in getting their biometric and demographic data updated in the Aadhaar database. Often, as in the case of Samant and many others, the redressal mechanism falls through the cracks – while the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), a statutory body established by the Government of India, generates the Aadhaar number, it’s the state government that’s the nodal agency for data enrollment.

In Simbiya panchayat of the district’s Sadar block, located about 30 kilometres from Samant’s village, anganwadi worker Mani Devgam is worried about Sriram Sidhu, a four-year-old orphan.

Devgam says that Sidhu might not be able to go to a school because he does not have an Aadhaar card.

“It’s not easy for an orphan to get an Aadhaar card made, and local school teachers don’t enroll students without Aadhaar,” she says. “There are at least 12 such children in the village and the problem extends to foodgrains too as their part of the entitlement is not given.”

Kair Bairi, who gave shelter to two orphans 10 years ago, says she has not been able to get their names added in the family’s ration card because they don’t have Aadhaar. “Without Aadhaar, I can’t get their names added in my ration card. The block officials said that I need to be their legal guardian in order to get their Aadhaar card made,” she says. “I couldn’t even get them enrolled in government schools.”

West Singhbhum district has 1,510 primary schools, where children can be enrolled in Class 1-5. District officials told The Indian Express that they will look into the issue.

Kiran Pasi, director of the Jharkhand Education Project Council, which operates under the state education department, said Aadhaar is not mandatory for enrollment. “We will ensure this does not happen.”

Several villagers in the district said they have not been able to correct or update their Aadhaar details despite visiting the enrolment centres multiple times.

In Chota Lagiya village of Khuntpani block, Chipti Kui’s Aadhaar card mentions her year of birth as 1995. She has three children, all above the age of 45.

“I am at least 65 years old, but since my Aadhaar card has the wrong date of birth, I don’t get old age pension. I don’t even have a voter ID card. I don’t know what to do,” she said. “I am trying to get the date of birth changed but every time I visit the enrollment centre, I am asked to bring an official ID or proof of birth.”

In Bamebasa village of Tonto block, Vikram Bari is unable to open a bank account or get a ration card due to age mismatch on his Aadhaar and voter identification card. His Aadhaar says he is 101 years old, while his voter ID mentions his age as 49 as of 2007.

Banmali Bari, who accompanied him to an Aadhaar centre for age correction said: “Vikram was told that he would have to get his father’s Aadhaar card or number. His father died many years ago. How does one get his Aadhaar card now?”

Ananya Mittal, West Singhbhum Deputy Commissioner, said: “We’ll soon set up camps in several villages to correct Aadhaar data and resolve the pension issues. We will also ensure that orphaned children are not denied their share of ration.”

A UIDAI official, requesting anonymity, said: “As far as the bank account, which got linked to someone else’s Aadhaar, is concerned, this is clearly the mistake of the bank. The UIDAI has no role in it. When it comes to the denial of subsidies due to lack of Aadhaar, one must understand that the nodal agency responsible for enrollment is the state government, particularly the Department of Information Technology, which has the infrastructure to address any problem. However, the government may put a specific request with regards to any issue and we’ll take a look.”

The official explained that changing the date of birth in Aadhaar card is “not an easy task”. “After submitting the request along with an identification proof, the application is forwarded to Bengaluru, where there are chances that it might get rejected as the system is automated,” he said. “In case that happens, the aggrieved person may then approach the UIDAI state office where a fresh verification process would be initiated after receiving his birth certificate from the municipal corporation of the area where he resides.”

However, most of the villagers in Jharkhand do not have their birth certificates or any other verification proof.

Calls made to Vipra Bhal, secretary, Department of Information Technology and e-Governance, went unanswered.