Scope for the middlemen has increased, says IIT professor Reetika Khera
In Bandaveedhi village in Paderu in Visakhapatnam agency, 400 residents had gone without the basic food items from the public distribution system (PDS) in April, as the officer concerned had a marriage at home and had no time to switch on the biometric machine that would record the finger prints of the beneficiaries. In Kasimkota, Padma, 70, was sent back on Wednesday after she trekked about 3 km in scorching heat to reach the centre, as her iris did not match and was told to come another day or get herself re-enrolled.
Practical difficulties
These were the practical difficulties that the adivasis and the people in rural Andhra Pradesh had been facing over the linkage, said Reetika Khera, Associate Professor from the department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT-Delhi. As per the Supreme Court’s directive linking Aadhaar for any government scheme was not mandatory, but the government machinery in all the States had been insisting on it leading to problems at least for 10 to 20% beneficiaries, and they fell in the most vulnerable segment, she opined, after a survey conducted across many States, including AP.
“In many cases, beneficiaries are sent back due to lack of connectivity or faulty machines or machines refusing to recognise the bio-metrics. And what happens if the beneficiary is old and disabled. It is not an easy task to come a second or a third time in rural or tribal areas and go back disappointed without the supplies,” she added.
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