[Reader-list] Is terrorism growing because we lack a UID? - 133

[anupam chakravartty]

For diamond workers in Surat, however this Unique I D card remains a
suggestion. Is it because the government has to give the benefits?

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/icard-for-diamond-workers-remains-a-suggest/459760/

thanks anupam


On 6/30/09, Taha Mehmood <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> wrote:
>
> Dear All
>
> This is perhaps the first instance of reasoned questioning of the UID
> program by media organization. The questions related to UID asked in
> the article below reflect a healthy skepticism not only about the
> purported benefits of such a scheme but also about the its
> foundational logic.
>
> I.5 Lakh crore- is the sum of money which will be transferred in the
> name of protecting this nation from ' illegal immigrants' and
> 'providing benefits' to the poorest to the poor. When most of the
> Indians live undocumented lives, one wonders how would this exercise
> be carried out? One also thinks why some prominent members of the
> main-stream media is in awe of Nandan Nilekeni Saheb. We recently saw
> Rajdeep Sardesai of CNN-IBN showering praise to Nilekeni Saheb's
> vision for India which includes a national identity card.
>
> Regards
>
> Taha
>
>
>
>
>
> http://news.in.msn.com/columns/article.aspx?cp-documentid=3065458
>
> Is terrorism growing because we lack a UID?
>
> To establish my nationality as an India, I do have multiple ID cards
> issued by various government agencies like the election identity card,
> driving license, passport, PAN and what not. But the UPA-II government
> feels these cards are not enough and I, like all other citizens of the
> country, must possess one more card, that's the Unique
> Identification(UID) card.
>
> The government seeks to achieve three-fold objectives by issuing the
> UID cards: 1. Enhance national security; 2. Check illegal immigration,
> particularly from Bangladesh; 3.Ensure that the benefits of government
> welfare schemes reach the targeted sections. Regarding the first
> objective, government thinks that UID will ensure identification of
> terrorists and thus curb the menace. But is cross-border terrorism
> growing just because we don't have a UID?
>
> The failure of the intelligence machinery in India, absence of a
> well-trained anti-terror force, lack of aggressiveness in India's
> policy towards Pakistan and, above all, the overt support received by
> terror outfits from the Pakistani regime are some of the reasons why
> terrorism is growing? All these factors were as clear as daylight in
> the recent Mumbai attacks. How can UID curb terrorism if these factors
> are not addressed by the government?
>
> About illegal immigration, the successive Central governments have
> been culpably indifferent to this problem, so much so most Bengladeshi
> immigrants in Delhi and Kolkata have managed to get even ration cards
> and electoral identity cards! In some constituencies, the illegal
> immigrant voters are said to be so strong as to determine the winner
> and the loser. If the illegal immigrants can manage to get ration
> cards and election ID cards from the administration, why can't they
> get a UID? So the problem here is rampant corruption in
> administration, not the absence of a citizen identification mechanism.
>
> Why do the benefits of government schemes not reach the targeted
> sections? This is because the lion's share of the allocations for such
> schemes are siphoned off by the corrupt politicians and bureaucrats.
> This politician-bureaucrat nexus is responsible for irregularities
> prevailing in the public distribution system. If the government cannot
> break this powerful nexus and eliminate corruption, how can just a UID
> card ensure proper distribution of government's welfare package?
>
> There are gross discrepancies in the issue of various identity cards
> in force now. It is no secret that a major portion of the BPL(Below
> the Poverty Line) cards issued to avail of subsidised food commodities
> through the PDS is bogus. A report states that there are 97 million
> BPL cards in the country whereas the number of BPL families come to
> only 58 million. Nandan Nilekani, who has been appointed chairman of
> the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), himself mentions
> in his celebrated book `Imagining India' that the number of BPL cards
> in his home state of Karnataka exceeds the total population of the
> state. This is because the cards are issued indiscriminately, thus
> denying the benefits of PDS to the really deserving. The story is the
> same as regards an estimated 65 million kisan credit cards in
> circulation in the country.
>
> How does the government propose to prevent similar fraud in the issue
> of national ID card? Where is the guarantee that the same corrupt
> forces which took advantage of the BPL cards won't abuse the UID also?
> Is the government willing to give a public commitment that the issue
> of UID will be transparent and corruption-free?
>
> The entire ID card project is estimated to cost around Rs 1.5 lakh
> crore. No doubt, it will offer a multi-billion dollar business
> opportunity for the domestic technology players, with the first phase
> of the project — which will cover ultra urban, urban, and semi-urban
> populations — alone offering a Rs 6,500 crore business opportunity.
> But the business part apart, is such a mammoth spending justified? If
> this ambitious programme falters at the implementation level like
> other such ID cards did, what will be the drain on the public
> exchequer? Rather than embarking on a new identification card at such
> colossal cost, shouldn't the government have made an honest attempt to
> plug the loopholes in the present system of issuing ID cards? Did the
> government set the right priority in taking up the UID project? Only
> time will tell.
>
> Speak up: Do you think UID will serve the intended purpose?
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