Aadhaar curbs in Assam to check frauds by illegals

GUWAHATI: The Assam cabinet approved Thursday a proposal to freeze issuance of Aadhaar to first-time adult applicants in the state from October 1 as part of a revised SOP meant to curb fraudulent enrolment, especially by suspected illegal immigrants.

CM Himanta Biswa Sarma , who had announced in June that all new Aadhaar applications would need to be vetted by the district administrative heads, said citizens above 18 without the 12-digit unique identification number would get "a final one-month window" until Sept-end to apply for theirs.

Applicants from the SC, ST and tea tribes will get an additional year to enrol for Aadhaar. After the general deadline ends, only deputy commissioners are authorised to approve enrolment in the "rarest of rare cases" based on reports from police, special branch and foreigners' tribunals.

Sarma said Aadhaar coverage in Assam had exceeded the state's population at 103%. SC, ST and tea tribes are the exception, with 4% still unregistered.

"We have taken this decision based on the surge of Bangladeshi immigrants caught entering the state illegally, especially over the past year. Just the other day, we pushed back seven of them," the chief minister said.

"We aren't sure we have been able to catch all of them. So, we want to create a bulwark against people trying to enter Assam illegally, enrolling for Aadhaar and living as Indian nationals. We want to completely close that door."

Assam's Aadhaar policy is now the most restrictive in the country, driven by concerns over illegal immigration and demographic changes. Manipur is another northeastern state that is strictly scrutinising applicants.

Aadhaar agency UIDAI's guidelines aim to standardise identity integrity, but allow states flexibility to tailor enforcement.