How will Aadhaar cards benefit the tribal communities of the Andaman Islands? How can they be convinced to participate in the enrolment drive? These are just some of the questions puzzling the officials of the regional Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) office here, which has been entrusted with the task of Aadhaar enrolment in the Indian Ocean islands.
About 50 per cent of the population of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands have already been covered under Aadhaar in the last two years. The exercise was earlier undertaken by the Directorate of Census department.
The UIDAI officials here are gearing up to convene meetings with the Andaman government officials regarding the status of thousands of tribals.
Of a population of three-and-half lakh, 1.8 lakh are yet to be enrolled. M.V.S. Rami Reddy, Deputy Director-General, UIDAI, said fresh tenders would be called and enrolment agencies would be identified within three months. “By January, we aim to cover almost 90 per cent of the population.”
The regional UIDAI office here is responsible for Aadhaar enrolments in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Telangana, along with the newly added Andaman and Nicobar Islands.